Nightshade
by Blackbird0
Summary: Yamanaka Ino was young when she first meets Uchiha Itachi, and it only confirms what she already knew. Beautiful things are dangerous. And Ino was very, very beautiful - she made sure of it. AU. Ino x Itachi
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.**

 **Chapter 1:** **Prologue**

Yamanaka Ino loved flowers. Some of her first memories were of her sitting on her mother's lap as people smiled when buying flowers; she associated them with happiness. People gave flowers for celebrations, anniversaries, and just to cheer someone up. It was only as she was older and understood the concepts of danger and death that she loved flowers even more.

The most beautiful flowers are deadly poison - as a child whose parents owned a flower store which sold poisons on the side, it was one of the earliest lessons she could remember being taught. Even at a young age Ino had loved the dual nature of flowers; they were fragile things, but when prepared correctly could bring down even the strongest of creatures.

Ino still remembered the day when she snuck into her father's greenhouse - she had never been allowed in there, so naturally when she saw the door partially open she jumped at the chance. In one universe she would have hesitated, obeyed her father's instructions, and passed on by. But a different choice was made and a path that would have been ceased to exist.

Ino tiptoed in with all the quietness of a three-year-old, gazing around curiously. Inside were rows of new and different flowers she had never seen before, so with pupil-less blue eyes wide, Ino explored. Nothing stood out to her until she caught sight of a bunch of beautiful purple flowers. Moving closer, Ino could see the flowers had five petals, like a star, with a yellow center. Ino liked them very much, but didn't understand why she hadn't been allowed in here. They were just flowers after all, weren't they?

Ino reached up to pick a deep purple one, gently breaking the stem near the base like she had been taught and giggling to herself, she tucked it behind her ear. Forgetting that she wasn't supposed to be there, Ino skipped over to show her father, looking for the compliments she always received.

"Daddy!" Ino squealed.

Yamanaka Inoichi was a good ninja. He had survived the Third Shinobi War and had come out mostly unscathed. Still, he had his coping methods like all shinobi, and gardening was one of them. His wife owned a flower shop and it was over gardening that they had bonded. Inoichi liked to know that with hard work, patience and gentleness, he could help life bloom; even after everything he had done in the name of his village. And so when he was in his private greenhouse, it was where he could unwind and relax after a long day.

He was jolted from his relaxed state when he heard his three-year-old daughter - who was most certainly not supposed to be in a room full of poisonous flowers - behind him. Berating himself for letting his guard down so much that a toddler had snuck up on him, Inoichi turned around to scold his daughter for ignoring his rules when he promptly choked on his words. Tucked behind his daughter's ear was a flower from one of the most poisonous plants in existence.

"Ino!" Inoichi scolded and jumped up, snatching the flower away from her. Ino looked startled and upset that he had taken her flower away.

"Why did you do that daddy?" Ino pouted with watery eyes.

Inoichi sighed before swooping down and scooping his daughter up.

"Ino," he said sternly, "There's a reason why you aren't allowed to come in here. These flowers are poisonous and very dangerous."

Ino tilted her head cutely to the side in confusion.

"Dangerous?" She repeated innocently.

Inoichi cast his mind around in attempt to explain the concept of danger to a three-year-old.

"Do you remember when you got sick?" He asked. "You felt really bad and were hot and you couldn't eat, do you remember?"

Ino nodded her head. She did remember, it hadn't been long ago and she couldn't remember a time when she had felt worse in her short life. To her, being sick was the worst experience she'd ever had.

"Well some flowers will make you sick just like you were before."

"Really?" Ino gasped. "But they look so pretty."

Inoichi chuckled. "The most beautiful things are always the most dangerous."

Now Ino was confused. Ino was a classic Yamanaka beauty; she had light blonde hair and beautiful blue eyes. Her mother always complimented her, calling her 'my beautiful little girl'. She had been called beautiful by her aunts and uncles and cousins in the clan, and even strangers on the street called her that. Ino was beautiful - she had been told it so many times that it was just a fact to her. And so when her father told her that the most beautiful things were the most dangerous, he didn't realise that Ino would come to associate them as one and the same. Ino was beautiful, which meant she was dangerous.

She didn't understand why being sick was a good thing, but if her dad said dangerous was good, he must be right.

"Daddy, if they make you sick, why do you have them?" She asked, trying to clear her confusion.

Inoichi carried her over to the rest of the purple flowers and set the one she had picked down.

"They aren't for making you sick, they're to make other people sick." He said in true ninja fashion, ignoring the fact he just told his young, impressionable daughter that it was a good thing to hurt other people.

To Ino, this made so much more sense. She didn't like feeling sick, so it was much better that it was someone else.

Ino beamed up at Inoichi.

"I understand Daddy!" She said proudly, impressed at her own brilliant deduction.

Oblivious to her thoughts, Inoichi ruffled her hair and moved towards the exit.

"Daddy, what is that flower called?" Ino asked.

"It's called Atropa Belladonna, or deadly nightshade, and it's one of the most dangerous plants in existence." He said, setting her down outside the greenhouse. "But enough of that, no coming in here again, I don't want you to get sick."

Ino nodded her head obediently, hugged her father's legs and skipped off. Like all young children, she wanted approval and recognition. She got it for her beauty. Beauty, she decided, was good, and the most beautiful thing she knew of was that flower.

Yamanaka Airi thought nothing of it when her daughter came up to her and demanded she buy her purple clothing. She should have.

~~~~~~~N~~~~~~~

 **Hello all, Thanks for reading! This story will be an Ino-centric fic where she will grow up modelling herself after nightshade instead of the bush clover, as she did in canon (Or so Narutopedia tells me).**

 **The first arc will cover Ino's childhood, developing her character into someone who is at her core the same Ino as canon Ino, but simultaneously very different.** **Itachi will feature in a few early chapters, and once we reach graduation and the start of the canon storyline, he'll feature much more prominently.**

 **I've tried to make this as realistic as one possibly can for the Naruto world, in the sense that this is one path that genuinely could have happened if certain events played out as they will in this story. I've always felt Ino had the potential for so much more;** **Asuma noted that Ino was a stand-out amongst the kunoichi during the chuunin exams and during her match with Sakura, she successfully fooled even the jounin to think she had lost her temper and caught Sakura in a rather ingenious trap. This Ino will have the same amount talent, only she will have more motivation and drive to prove herself as a ninja, rather than just to win Sasuke's affections.**

 **So follow/fav, leave a review, but most importantly, enjoy.**

 **Blackbird0~**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Ino's increased interest in flowers was noted by her parents but not remarked upon as anything important. Ino was a young girl and what young girl didn't like flowers? Ino would spend hours with her mother in the flower shop, asking questions and soaking up the knowledge Airi indulgently imparted. When she was four years old, Ino stumbled upon books. She saw pictures of flowers on the pages, some she knew, others she didn't, and unintelligible scribbles beside it. Picking up her mother's book, she dragged the heavy encyclopaedia over to the kitchen where Airi was preparing lunch.

"Mommy, what is this?" Ino asked.

Airi turned to see her daughter hefting a massive book in front of her with her tiny arms.

Smiling at the cute image Ino presented, Airi replied, "It's a book that tells you a lot of information about flowers."

At this Ino perked up.

"You mean like mommy's lessons? I could learn about flowers whenever I want?"

"Yes, but you'll have to learn how to read first." Airi smiled.

Ino, in true Ino fashion instantly demanded, "Teach me how to read! Please." She added as an afterthought.

Never one to discourage her child's development, Airi agreed.

Ino approached reading with the same focus she approached learning about flowers. She joined a small class with her fellow Yamanaka children who had already learned the basics. At first Ino struggled with hiragana, but it wasn't long before she caught up to her peers. When their teacher, an elderly woman named Yamanaka Hisaki, proclaimed her ready to read rudimentary books, Ino had immediately gone to the encyclopedia, only to realise she didn't understand any of it. Instead of being disappointed and giving up, Ino stubbornly went back and demanded to learn kanji.

Unbeknownst to her, her progress at reading was noticed and remarked upon within the clan. Hisaki was pleased with such determination and intelligence their heiress displayed, and made sure to relay this to the other clan elders. A strong, intelligent heir was what all clan members hoped for. Ino wasn't a genius, but she was intelligent and driven.

It was summer and Ino had just come home from playing with other kids her age at the park. She was looking forward to ice cream and wandered into the kitchen, aiming for the freezer. It was as she was passing the living room with a strawberry popsicle in hand that she heard her name. Curious, she stopped to listen.

"-nd hard working, Ino has proven she is ready to start her training."

Ino recognised the voice as one of the clan elders, Tadao. She was very pleased that he thought she was deserving of starting her training; being a ninja sounded full of excitement and adventure and Ino couldn't wait.

"Very well." That was her father talking now. "Ino will begin her physical training with her reading classmates, and I'll start teaching her the principals of our clan jutsu. We can arrange a history tutor at a later date. My wife will handle her kunoichi training."

"Excellent." Another elderly man spoke up this time, sounding pleased. "There are some amongst the clan who doubt if young Ino is capable because she is a woman, but this will go some way to silence those opposed."

"I will take Ino to her lessons tomorrow." Inoichi said. "Speaking of which…" He projected his voice louder.

"Ino, I know you're there."

Busted! Ino skipped into the living room and smiled up at her father.

"You called daddy?" She asked innocently. Turning to the two men and Hisaki on the sofa, Ino bowed politely. "Honoured elders."

Inoichi looked somewhat disapproving but also amused, and the elders similarly looked pleased.

"Good, if you are caught, never admit it unless you will gain something from that admission. But next time don't be caught." Hisaki said sternly.

"Hai, Hisaki-baa." Ino said, glad that she wasn't in trouble.

"You heard us Ino, you'll be starting training tomorrow." Inoichi said.

Ino glowed.

"Even our mind techniques?" She asked, excited.

Her father nodded, before clarifying, "Only the rules, restrictions and safety first. You know how dangerous our techniques are, and I will expect you to follow my instructions to the letter. Any attempt of preforming the jutsu on your own will mean you will be banned from learning it until you prove yourself trustworthy again. Is that understood?" Inoichi sounded very stern.

Ino straightened up in response and nodded seriously.

"Yes father, I won't let you down. I promise."

The elders left soon after, leaving just Inoichi and herself in the room.

"Hey, daddy… what did he mean by people not wanting me to be heiress? Is it true?"

Inoichi looked hesitant but explained.

"Well, some of our clan are more… traditional than others. Men always used to have the positions of power, and mostly still do today. It's a new thing for there to be a female heiress. Never before in the history of our clan or any other has a woman inherited the position of clan head. You and the Hyuuga heiress are the first in an inheritable position, and even now it's still undecided if it will stay that way."

"But why?" Ino asked, confused and hurt.

Her father hesitated again before saying, "In history, there are many more powerful men than women, and to be clan head, you must be powerful. Now that's not to say women aren't powerful, just look at the Hokage's student, Tsunade-sama. She is able to crush mountains with her bare hands."

Ino's eyes widened in awe. Inoichi continued.

"Old beliefs die hard." He shrugged. "You don't need to worry about it Ino, just do your best."

Ino nodded her head.

"I will. I'll become really powerful, and then no one will dare say Yamanaka Ino shouldn't be clan head!" Ino said with the full confidence of youth. She turned blue eyes on her father.

"Daddy, how did you become powerful?"

Inoichi looked bemused before replying, "I did well at my training. But really Ino, you're too young to be worrying about these things, why don't you go play."

Ino, dissatisfied, but sensing she wouldn't get anything more out of her father, chirped an "ok!" and bounced out of the room. She left the compound, waving to the guards on the way out, before making her way to someone she knew could help her with her dilemma.

A stroll through Konoha was long enough for her to finish her popsicle, and by the time she reached the outer edge where the forests lay, she was sweating under the bright summer sun. Entering the Nara clan compound was a relief, and she gratefully stepped into the shade of the tall trees of the Nara woods. Knowing exactly where her target would be, she bypassed the house and made her way deeper into the trees. In a small clearing, she came upon a boy lying in the grass.

"Shikamaru!" Ino called. "It's me!"

A heavy sigh was heard and the dark haired boy cracked an eye open.

"Did you need something Ino?" Shikamaru asked in a bland tone.

Ino rolled her eyes at his typical behaviour.

"Just a question I need answered. It won't take long, and then you can go back to sleep." She said disapprovingly. Even at a young age, Ino didn't like laziness. There was so much to do, and Shikamaru just wasted his time all day, Ino would never understand him!

But, she grudgingly admitted to herself, Shikamaru was the best person to ask.

"Ne, Shikamaru, how do you become powerful?"

Shikamaru cracked his other eye open to look at her incredulously.

"Why would you want to know that?" He asked.

Ino huffed and crossed her arms.

"Some of the people in my clan think I won't be a good clan head just because I'm a girl, so I need to prove them wrong."

"Troublesome." He sighed. Deciding this was just another one of Ino's phases and answering her would let him go back to sleep, he decided to humour her.

"First, it depends on what kind of power you mean. There are many kinds. Fighting prowess, information, and political power. Which one do you mean?"

Ino frowned before asking, "Well, which ones do I need to be a good clan head?"

"All of them." Shikamaru intoned.

"So tell me about all of them"

Shikamaru sighed before sitting up and launching into an explanation.

"To be a good fighter, you'll need to have your own style of fighting that will work for you. Are you going to be a stealth fighter, or a front-line fighter? Focus on physical attacks or chakra attacks? Do you have enough chakra to specialise in things like that? Speed or power, or maybe and all-rounder type. You need to see what you're good at and then decide what skills will go well with your natural talents."

Shikamaru paused, making sure she got all of that. Ino nodded.

"Information is what Yamanaka are good at. If you know what's going on and why, then you can influence outcomes in your favour. You should talk to your clan, they'll know more than I will."

"Ok, makes sense so far. What about the last one?"

"Political power is the most messy. It's where you can make decisions that will affect other people. Say, the Hokage has a lot of political power because he can make up new laws, right? But the clan heads also have a say in these laws, so they have political power too. They have less than the Hokage though, because he's the one with the final say. To gain it, you need to have lots of powerful friends, like our parents are, who will work together to get what they want done."

Ino hummed in comprehension. "So I'll need to figure out my talents and fighting style, have my clan teach me about information, and make lots of skilled friends." She summarised succinctly.

Shikamaru looked slightly surprised she had understood it all, but nodded.

"That's right."

Ino pondered for a few seconds before nodding decisively. She stood up and brushed the grass off her purple skirt.

"Thanks Shikamaru! I was going to lecture you on your laziness, but since you helped me, I'll let you off this time."

Shikamaru rolled his eyes and slumped back onto the grass.

"Small mercies." He muttered under his breath.

Ino ignored him and left the Nara compound. She made her way to the Akimichi compound next. She asked one of the passing ninja where she could find Akimichi Akane. She eventually found her tending to the garden.

"Aunt Akane!" Ino called, waving happily.

Akane looked up and smiled when she saw it was Ino.

"Ino-chan! To what do I owe the pleasure?"

Akane was one of her favourite aunts. She had married her old Akimichi teammate, one of the clan head's cousin. Akane had the typical Yamanaka blue eyes with light brown hair. Ino liked her because she always knew exactly what to say to make her feel better.

"Aunt Akane, I need your help! What are my talents?"

If Akane was surprised by the question she didn't show it.

"How about we figure it out together." She said kindly. "People are normally good at the things that they enjoy. So what do you enjoy Ino-chan?"

"I like flowers… I know a lot about them." Ino said dubiously. "But how will that help me choose a fighting style?"

Akane raised an eyebrow at that, but said, "Well, flowers can be used as poisons, which you already know. You could coat your weapons in them. People who use poisons are normally good at hiding and escape so they can poison someone and leave before they get caught.

"Really though, before you decide your fighting style, you should learn the basics of everything. When you start your training, the clan will teach you about all the areas of ninja arts. You should try your best at all of them, and then you'll discover what you enjoy and what you're good at."

Ino wasn't pleased at having to wait, but Akane always made sense.

"Now, why don't you help me with the gardening, I could use the help of a flower expert like you."

Ino puffed up with pride and proceeded to help. But even as she worked with her aunt under the warm Konoha sun, she didn't forget their earlier conversation. In the privacy of her own mind she swore that one day she would be strong, and she would prove it - not only to her clan - but to the world as well.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

"Thunk. Thunk. Thunk."

Ino panted and gasped for air as she stood in her backyard in front of a wooden post. A paper target was pinned onto it, covered with numerous slashes and shuriken. She had been throwing since lunch and was exhausted.

It had been a month since Ino started her training, and she loved it. She had joined her reading class to be taught by Yamanaka Maiko, one of the retired chuunin in her clan who had been a field ninja. She had retired after a Kumo-nin slashed her eyes with a kunai, and she now spent her time teaching at both the academy and her clan. Like all Yamanaka, Maiko was a sensor, and she had an uncanny ability to tell if people were slacking off.

Maiko, like her name suggested, fought like a dancer. The first day of her taijutsu training, Maiko had given a demonstration of some of the more complicated kata. Ino instantly fell in love with the swift, graceful movements. There was something appealing about the way she moved, dodged and jumped, and Ino liked it very much.

Whilst Ino enjoyed her lessons, she found the people in them much less pleasant. Joining her clansmen for reading hadn't been a problem. The three boys in her class didn't really care if Ino had been better than them at reading, since it wasn't seen as a particularly 'cool' skill. However, Ino joining them in their ninja classes made them resentful. They had had to wait until they were six and were in the ninja academy to start learning these skills, and they were unimpressed when a younger girl was allowed to join.

The first couple of weeks of taijutsu training were dedicated to sprints, stretches, and learning how to fall correctly. Ino got a lot of practice at the last one, since whichever boy she was partnered with would always go out of their way to push her over as hard as he could. Ino went home with scraped knees and bruises every day until she believed her skin would soon match the colour of her clothes. Her mother was worried that training was too rough on the five-year old Ino, but as soon as she suggested postponing it, Ino immediately shot her down. She was Yamanaka Ino, and she wouldn't be intimidated by anyone!

So she stubbornly stuck at it and went back every day to be pushed again and again until she learned to avoid landing on bony areas, roll to the side, and tuck her head in so she didn't hit it on the ground. Although taijutsu was slow in coming, throwing weapons weren't. In order to have brilliant aim when graduation comes around, every ninja in training starts learning to throw in their first year at the academy.

Ino found that she excelled at throwing kunai, with her shuriken only slightly worse. However her talent at throwing weapons made the boys more resentful and their crusade against Ino stepped up a notch. Her two main detractors were her second or third cousins, and they had a silent competition with her to one-up each other at the exercises. Maiko would catch anyone who was openly fighting, so their war consisted of smug glances and 'accidental' pushes and shoves. As a result, Ino spent lots of her free time training because she was stubborn and refused to lose to anyone.

This was why she was still at it even after her lessons had ended. She could hit the wooden stump, but she still wasn't hitting bulls-eyes, and to the competitive person Ino was, it wasn't good enough.

"Ino! Time for your history lesson!"

Her mother's voice floated out of the house, making Ino frown in annoyance at her training being interrupted. Gathering up her blunted weapons, Ino padded into the living room where her history tutor waited. Her annoyance didn't last long as the lesson began, and she enjoyed a somewhat lazy afternoon of hearing and reading about the history of her clan.

Her tutor turned out to be the elder Tadao, the one who had recommended she start training. He seemed to have taken a personal interest in the progress of the clan heiress, and was always happy to pass on the stories and legends of his clan. Ino loved hearing about her ancestors; back during the era of warring states, many feared the Yamanaka clan. When borders were non-existent, they had lived in the mountains of where lightning country now was, and they were masters of ambushing anyone who dared enter their territory.

Mountains filled with ambush points, dense fog, and animals that seemed to watch your movements too closely to be natural. Genjutsu lured you into traps, and then suddenly your body wasn't yours anymore. After ransacking your mind for information and new techniques, you would be left a drooling mess, mind shattered. Her clan sometimes let their victims to wander back down the mountain to serve as a warning to any other who dared to climb _their_ mountain.

Even to this day, after the Yamanaka had migrated to Konoha, people didn't climb it unless they had to.

They had had an alliance with the Nara who lived in the sprawling forest at the base of their mountain, and the Akimichi, who had lived near the lakes and rivers. They traded with the Nara for herbs and medicine, and the Akimichi for fish and weapons. Whenever shinobi from other clans encroached in either the Nara forest or the Akimichi waters, the three relatively small clans would band together and help them defend the territory and resources they all needed.

To Ino, these stories were awe-inspiring and filled her with determination to become just as fearsome as her ancestors. Since moving to Konoha, more Yamanaka worked in the village than in the field, their talents indispensible in T&I. With less clan members dying in the field, the Yamanaka clan had grown. However, with the decline of the Kato clan and their ghost jutsu users, more and more of Ino's clansmen were taking to the field once again, like her father who was once part of a famous combat squad.

The afternoon passed, and Ino was once again at the park, engaging in a game of ninja. The point was to hide, and if found, run away and lose your pursuer so that you could hide again. Ino and another girl had found a place in some shrubbery, and they were giggling about their outfits whilst simultaneously trying to stay quiet. Loud laughter was heard from beyond a couple of trees, and Ino craned her head around a bush to take a closer look.

"Hey! Look who it is, it's forehead girl!"

Ino could hear people jeering, but couldn't see the object of their attentions.

"Hey forehead! How do you walk around with such a massive head? I'm surprised your legs can hold it up!"

Laughter floated over the trees, and then faint mumbling.

"What was that? You can't even talk properly, how dumb. What good is your big forehead if you don't even have any brains?"

Ino heard the sound of feet running away, and the group drifted off in another direction, congratulating each other. She turned to the other girl hiding in the same bush as her.

"Hey Midori, do you know what that was about?"

Midori looked somewhat uncomfortable while saying, "Yeah, Ami and her group really like bullying some girl. I don't know her name, but apparently she has a really big forehead."

Ino 'hmmed' to herself. Making up her mind, she stood up and brushed the dirt off her clothes.

"Ino!" Midori hissed. "Get down, we'll be spotted!"

"It's ok, tell them that I'm going home early today. I'll see you later Midori."

Ino strolled off before she got a response and headed in the direction of the crying girl. It didn't take long for Ino to find her, sobbing, as she squatted on the side of the path out of the park. Ino crouched down in front the crying girl.

"Hey, aren't you the one they're always teasing 'cause you've got such a big forehead?"

The pink haired girl gave a few more shuddering sobs before looking up and asking, "Wh-who are you?"

"Who me? Oh that's easy, my name's Yamanaka Ino. Who are you?"

"My name's -." She mumbled quietly.

"Huh? Hello? I can't hear you. Let's try that again, ok? Who are you?"

"My name is Sakura!" She said angrily through her tears.

Ino smiled. Reaching forward, she tapped her finger onto Sakura's forehead.

"That's better. So this is the famous forehead, huh? Whoa, it is kinda big. So that's why you hide it with your bangs?"

Sakura's face scrunched up even further, looking like she might start crying again.

"That's dumb, it just makes it worse. Makes you look like a sheep dog."

She shook with silent sobs as Ino held her bangs up and regarded her closely. Straightening up, she smiled.

"So you're Sakura, huh?"

"Uh huh." Sakura sniffed pitifully while wiping her eyes.

Ino nodded to herself and turned to walk away.

"Hey you know what? I've got something special for you. Come back here tomorrow okay?"

Ino strolled back to her house, satisfied with her good deed of the day.

* * *

"Hi Ino! Hey, who's that you're with? Who's she?"

Midori greeted both Ino and Sakura as they arrived at their regular meeting spot the next day.

"This is Sakura." Ino announced to the group. Turning to the shy girl on her right she continued, "C'mon, don't you wanna say hello?"

Sakura, with her new red ribbon holding her bangs back, said a quiet "hi" after retreating behind Ino's back.

 _'Well,'_ Ino thought to herself, ' _baby steps.'_

~~~~~~~~N~~~~~~~~~

That day when Ino got home, she told her parents about her new friend Sakura over dinner. She told them what she looked like, "She has _pink_ hair, it's really weird, but pretty awesome", about her forehead and how shy she is.

"I mean, she shrinks into herself at _everything,_ she's practically asking to be bullied. But she's actually really cute, she just needs more confidence, and then she'll stop being a bully magnet." Ino concluded with a decisive nod, proceeding to spoon more soup into her mouth.

Airi looked amused at Ino's bluntness and Inoichi cracked a smile. Ino could practically see the gears turning in her father's head, processing and storing information so he could run a background check. She'd had to report about all her friends in this manner, so she was used to being thorough about every detail she knew.

"That's wonderful you have new friend, she sounds like she could use one." Airi said, smiling fondly down at her daughter. Inoichi and Airi then exchanged glances and turned to Ino. Sensing the change in atmosphere, Ino stopped eating and glanced up at them. Her parents both looked seriously at her and her father said, "Ino, your mother and I have something important to talk to you about."

Now somewhat worried, she glanced between them.

"Okay...?"

Her father and mother twined there hands together as Airi said, "Ino, what do you think about having a younger sibling?"

"Like, a younger brother or sister?" She asked cautiously.

"Yes." Inoichi nodded.

"I would be an older sister?"

"Yes" He said again.

Ino beamed. The look of relief on her parents' face was somewhat comical, but she didn't care. She leapt up from her seat and bounded over to them.

"I'm going to be a big sister! Am I going to have a sister or a brother? Ooh! I could teach them how to braid hair, and all about fashion! And how to throw kunai and shuriken, Maiko-sensei said I'm really good at it! Where are they? Can I have one now?"

Her father laughed and her mother gave her a glowing smile and ran her fingers through Ino's hair.

"You'll have to wait seven months, and we don't know if it's a girl or boy yet."

"That's too long!" Ino complained. She quickly forgot her annoyance as her excitement bubbled up again.

"I'm going to be a big sister!" She squealed.

~~~~~~~~~N~~~~~~~~~

 **I never understood why the Ino-Shika-Cho trio didn't have any siblings, so I decided that they would in here. Having a younger sibling is going to change the story quite radically, and not only for Ino.**

 **Blackbird0~**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

"All of you here have been entrusted to carry on the Will of Fire. Like every ninja before you, you will learn to protect the village, and in return, the village will protect you. Today is the start of your ninja journey. As long as you remain true to your heart and do your best, you will be a fine ninja."

Ino bounced in her seat in excitement. Sakura, who was next to her, was smiling shyly to herself. They were seated in the auditorium with several hundred others, listening to the Hokage speak. Ino was so excited; this was the place where she would meet her future teammates and comrades. They would spar together, do survival exercises together and learn jutsu. Ino scanned the room seeing all the kids. So many friends she hadn't made yet!

Feet thundered on the ground as the Hokage finished and all the children made their way to their classrooms. Ino and Sakura were in the same class, Sakura having scored high enough on her entrance test to get in. Ino had been trained for a year already and her clan had made sure she knew everything to ace the entrance exam. They reached the classroom and Ino led them to seats near the back. She paused as they passed a chubby kid sitting at one of the desks.

"Choji! Hi!" Ino said.

Choji looked up from where he was munching on some chips.

"Oh, hey Ino."

Ino glanced at the sleeping boy next to him.

"Shikamaru? How on earth did you get into the top class? I thought it would be too troublesome for you."

The sleepy boy cracked an eye open to glance at her.

"My mom threatened me with no shogi for a month if I didn't do well enough on my test to get into the top class." Shikamaru sighed.

Ino snickered.

"Haha! I should have guessed Aunt Yoshino would do that." She said grinning. "Ah!" She turned to Sakura who was hiding slightly behind her.

"This is my new friend, Sakura. Sakura, this is Akimichi Choji and Nara Shikamaru. Say hi."

"Hello." Sakura said shyly, ducking her head.

"Right, we'll see you two slackers later." Ino announced after Shikamaru gave Sakura a lazy nod and Choji waved shyly back. She grabbed Sakura's hand and pulled her to a bench.

"I'm so excited! This is going to be great, I'm so glad you decided to join the academy!"

"I'm glad too." Sakura said quietly, smiling at Ino.

Just then the door to the classroom clattered open and a young brown-haired man came in.

"Ah, good morning everyone, my name is Umino Iruka, and I will be your sensei for the next six years you're here. We'll be starting with basic math and history as well as doing physical assessments this week. So I expect everyone to try your best at everything, alright? Now, I'll be handing out your textbooks for the year. Please come and collect one when I call out your name."

"Aburame Shino."

Ino bounced in her chair and turned to grin at Sakura, who grinned tentatively back.

~~~~~~~~~N~~~~~~~~~~

"Whoo!"

Ino stretched her arms above her head.

"Wow, am I glad the day's over. Iruka-sensei sure knows how to drone on, doesn't he Sakura?"

Sakura jolted and looked at Ino, shocked.

"I-Ino-chan! You shouldn't say that about our sensei!"

She looked around wildly as if she expected Iruka to be standing behind them. Ino just laughed and waved Sakura off.

"Don't worry about it, you know, you don't always have to be so polite. Just say what you want to say. Now c'mon, lets go find Midori and the others. They should be out at the same time."

Making their way through the herds of children, they spotted their group of friends together.

"Hey! Midori! How's it going?" Ino called loudly.

Midori looked up and smiled as they approached.

"Hi Ino! It's great, our sensei is nice. Ah, but-" Midori hesitated, glancing at Sakura. "Ami and her friends are in my class as well." She finished, grimacing.

"Hey, don't worry about it!" Ino said bracingly to Sakura who was shrinking in on herself again. "If they pick on you again just be confident and give them a piece of your mind!"

When Sakura didn't respond, Ino changed the subject:

"I think I see your mom there Sakura."

"Ah! You're right." The pink haired girl stood on her tiptoes, catching sight of her mother.

"My mom is here too, good timing huh? I'll see you guys tomorrow!" Ino said.

"Bye Ino!"

"B-bye!"

Ino gave a parting wave and skipped over to her mother.

"Hey mom!" Ino called. Airi waved back with one hand, the other resting on her swollen belly.

"How was your day, Ino-chan?" Airi smiled down at her daughter.

"It was good! Sakura and I are in the same class, and Iruka-sensei seems nice enough. He's a little boring sometimes though."

Airi laughed.

"As long as you pay attention to everything. Remember, the things you learn today will-"

"Save my life tomorrow, I know, I know." Ino cut her off, rolling her eyes. "Daddy says that all the time."

Ino waved goodbye to Sakura who was with her mother, then set off with her hand in Airi's.

"So, what do you think about a picnic this weekend at the park? To celebrate your entrance into the academy?"

Ino perked up at that.

"Really? Sounds great! Ah, but what about you? Didn't the doctors say you should rest?"

Airi gave a gentle laugh and ruffled Ino's hair, who then pouted and fixed it.

"Now _you_ sound like your father. Don't worry, we'll just go to the closest park. But I _am_ glad that you're taking care of your younger brother already Ino-chan."

Ino beamed up at her mother.

"Mommy?"

"Yes Ino-chan?"

"How come brother is in your belly? Did you eat him?"

Airi burst out laughing, before finally settling down and wiping a tear from her eye when she saw Ino's un-amused face.

"Sorry Ino. I promise to tell you when you're older."

"But mom!" Ino instantly protested. "I _am_ older. I'm already six!"

Airi grinned as she rebuked her.

"Don't whine. Remember what your father said. Trust us to have reasons for what we do. I promise to tell you when you're older." She chuckled.

"Hmph." Ino crossed her arms and pouted. "Fine." She turned a glare on her mother. "But I'm not happy about it."

Airi rearranged her face into a solemn expression.

"Of course Ino."

Ino squinted at her.

"Now you're making fun of me!" She realised.

"Never, Ino-sama." Airi said seriously.

"Mooom!"

~~~~~~~~~N~~~~~~~~~~

It was a beautiful spring day that Sunday when Airi and Ino set out for their picnic. Inoichi was reluctantly cooped up in the weekly Clan head meeting and, barring a miracle, wasn't expecting to make it for the day. However before he left the house, he had presented Ino with a new set of kunai for entering the academy. They were proper sharp ones with the Yamanaka crest engraved in the side that her father had gotten for her, to signify his trust in her skill and maturity about when to use them. Airi hadn't been happy about getting such a young child proper weapons, but in ninja clans such things were extremely common and not at all unusual; all of her cousins had gotten their own weapons sets when they had entered the academy.

Flowers were in full bloom and Ino delighted in pointing them out as they walked. They set up on a particularly green patch of grass and unpacked the large selection of food Airi had made. Time flew by as they talked and laughed about Airi being able to balance her bento box on her round stomach. It was as they were tucking into some chocolate that Ino looked up, noticing someone in her peripheral vision.

"Daddy!" she said happily, abandoning her chocolate and racing towards him. Just as she was about to jump and hug him, her mother suddenly shouted her name.

"Ino!"

Ino felt a tug around her middle and she was yanked backwards. Just in the nick of time.

"Daddy?" Ino asked weakly, hand automatically going to the small cut on her neck that had just appeared.

On her father's face was a cold expression that she had never seen before, and in his hand was the kunai that he had just slashed at her with. If Airi hadn't pulled her out of the way, she would have died.

Ino was shunted behind her mother as Airi pulled out two kunai from seemingly nowhere and crouched in front of her daughter.

"Stay back Ino, that's not your father." Airi said in a harsh tone that Ino didn't recognize. The man in front of them was engulfed in a puff of smoke, revealing a slender figure wearing grey with a cloth mask. Before Ino could comprehend what was happening, her mother and the attacker were slashing at each other at high speed, Airi making sure that Ino was always behind her. Remembering her lessons, Ino reached into the picnic basket with shaking hands and pulled out one of her new kunai. She held it tightly, the familiar weapon offering her a small amount of comfort.

Ino had never been in a proper fight before, she hadn't sparred with anyone either, but even she could tell that her mother was losing. Airi was doing well for an eight-month pregnant woman, but she had lost her edge since retiring and the assassin was swiftly pushing her back. A particularly fierce strike caused her to drop one of her kunai and left an opening for the assassin to deliver a kick to her midriff. Airi cried out in dismay and pain as she instinctively hunched over her stomach to protect her unborn child. This was a mistake as she disrupted her stance and the man swept her feet out from underneath her.

To Ino watching from the sidelines, it was the most terrifying thing she had ever experienced. She gasped when Airi was kicked, and when she fell, her mind went terrifyingly blank. It was only as the assassin stalked towards her mother with a raised knife that she moved. Chakra instinctively circulating in her limbs, she barrelled forwards and plunged her kunai into his leg as deeply as she could.

It was only luck that saved Ino that day; the assassin was specialised in stealth, not combat, and her kunai had pierced through muscle and hit the assassin's femoral artery. He let out a roar of pain and instinctively swatted Ino back. Had he been more experienced, he would have punched her and broken her ribs. However he was not, and Ino went flying back with only a bruise. In her nervousness and fright, Ino had clenched her hand so hard that when she went flying back, she took her kunai with her. The kunai being dislodged caused the assassin to go down, bleeding heavily from his leg.

Pain exploded across Ino's back when she crashed into a tree, large splinters of wood digging into her skin. Her chest hurt where the man had hit her, but she shakily attempted to stand up, only to fall on her face, gaining more scratches in the process. Whimpering, she succeeded on her second try. She staggered over to her mother who was still on the ground, gasping and clutching at her stomach, but before she could get there, something viciously clamped down on her right ankle.

A piercing scream tore from her throat as she was yanked off balance and hit the ground. Panicking, Ino jerked and tried to scrabble away as he dragged her towards him. She screamed again, her legs flailing wildly, but futility, as his other hand clamped down on her left leg. Terrified out of her mind, Ino felt some of her chakra rip away from her tearing towards the man, causing him to yelp in pain and clutch at his head. Ino, now somewhat released, twisted around and brought her hand down in a desperate stab. The kunai that Ino had miraculously held onto throughout the whole fight tore into the assassin's throat, causing blood to spurt from the wound and onto her hands.

Ino yanked her hand back, the kunai leaving his body with a sickening sound. She scrabbled away in fear and shock as he gurgled and then went still. Body shaking violently and her heart pounding in her ears, she crawled towards her mother.

"M-mommy?" Ino sobbed out.

"Ino!" Airi cried desperately. "Are you ok!?"

Ino swallowed heavily and answered shakily.

"I-I'm ok, mommy. Are you ok?"

Because Airi didn't look okay. She was pale and sweating and still cradling her swollen stomach.

"Mommy's fine, Ino-chan." Airi said, smiling weakly.

But before anything else could be said, someone burst from the surrounding trees. Adrenaline rushing through her veins, Ino suddenly felt a rush of strength and leapt up, bloody kunai held in front of her as she crouched protectively in front of her mother.

Blood-red eyes with swirling black tomoe locked onto blue.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Ino's first impression of her assailant was one of fear and awe. Pale skin with silky dark hair, the contrast was startling, and the red eyes even more so. Her next thought was _oh, he's not attacking me_ because a closer look revealed spinning tomoe in his eyes, and Ino knew them to belong to the Military Police, which meant they had come to help. Suddenly, in the face of the Konoha headband on his forehead, Ino felt her strength sap from her limbs and it was all she could do to remain standing. Blood trickled down her back and face, and her ribs ached.

On the ground, her mother choked out "Identify!"

The Uchiha had been scanning the area, but now he focused on the two of them, slight worry flickering across his features before becoming impassive once more.

"The stars grow dim, the sun fades to dust, leaves to ashes, the fire burns eternal."

Airi let out a relieved sigh, and Ino relaxed further upon hearing the phrase all Konoha ninja knew. The phrase was taught in the last year of the academy to civilian children, but the clan kids were taught it as soon as they could understand what it meant. Civilians dropped out of the academy frequently, and while clan kids did too, it was very uncommon. However, every person who belonged to a clan, ninja or not, was at risk of getting caught up in ninja business, if only because of their relations. So in order to prove their affiliation –as much as anyone could- they were told to memorise random phrases. Had the Uchiha said ' _and_ the fire burns eternal', they would have known he had been coerced into giving up the phrase to someone, or his approaching them was influenced by parties meaning harm.

Red eyes faded to black as he approached.

"I am Uchiha Itachi." He said, his young voice calm, but with underlying urgency. "Lady Yamanaka, you need immediate medical attention."

Airi, still clutching her swollen stomach nodded.

"Ino first." she managed to say through her pained gasps.

Itachi rose from his crouched position in front of Airi, turning to Ino.

Ino, in a state of shock, took a moment to understand what her mother was saying.

"No!" She shouted, shaking her head rapidly. "Mommy! Mommy needs help first, she has my brother. Take her to the hospital now!"

Understanding flickered across Itachi's face as he quickly scanned her before nodding.

"I will send up a flare to alert the nearby MP patrols. I have also dealt with the other assassin; your daughter will be safe. I will bring you to the hospital Lady Yamanaka."

As he spoke, he let off the flare into the sky. It shot up, igniting and glowing bright red as it burned and slowly fell. Without further ado, Itachi vanished with her mother. Ino didn't have long to wait before two Uchiha policemen arrived at the scene, looking somewhat shocked as they saw her. Ino knew she must have looked a sight, but at the moment she didn't care; she only wanted to go to the hospital and see if her mother was alright. Turning to the men, she spoke before they could get a word out.

"I need to go to the hospital, my mom is there!" She said with urgency, staggering in a random direction. "Which way is the hospital!" She demanded somewhat hysterically.

"Calm down miss. Tell us what happened, and I shall take you to the hospital." One of the officers spoke.

Ino took a shaky breath and quickly said:

"Someone attacked me and mommy, and then she got hurt, and I stabbed him, and then Itachi-san came and took mommy to the hospital, we need to go, now!"

In the short time Ino had used to speak, the park filled with more officers and other off-duty ninja who had seen the flare and come running. One of the Uchiha had found the other assassin that Itachi had dealt with - he had been knocked out by a genjutsu and was currently comatose - and was securing him properly. The policeman kneeling in front of Ino nodded to his partner after her explanation who he vanished in a puff of smoke, leaving the man to pick Ino up and dash off.

"I am taking you to the hospital now, Yamanaka-chan." The man said stiffly, obviously out of his depth with how to deal with children. Alarm bells started ringing out a pattern from every police station, and in the back of Ino's mind, she recognised the code for a lockdown across the village. However the most important thing was her mother and brother, and she wished so hard that they would be ok.

~~~~~~~~~N~~~~~~~~

Inoichi was sitting in his uncomfortable wooden chair at the council meeting. He shifted in it, futilely trying to find a softer spot as Homura - the Homage's teammate - went on about the recent trend in rice prices and how this meant that now was the time to import more to fill the silos before the price rose further. Inoichi was glad that there were people who took the economy and food supply seriously, but he really didn't see the point in having the whole council in on this meeting. It was protocol to give a basic overview of every part of Konoha's workings at these meetings, but clearly Inoichi's opinion of 'basic overview' differed from Homura's.

Just as he was debating whether or not people would notice if he started a conversation with Chouza using hand signs, alarm bells went off and the door of the meeting room was thrust open, a man with dark hair and the Uchiha fan emblazoned on his back striding through.

"Apologies for the interruption Hokage-sama, honoured council members."

The officer bowed apologetically to the room as a whole before turning back to the Hokage.

"Report." Sarutobi said sternly.

"Hai." The Uchiha stood straight in a military stance. Before he started however, he cast a glance at Inoichi who felt the stirrings of dread in the pit of his stomach.

"Five minutes ago, Lady Yamanaka and the Yamanaka heiress were attacked."

Inoichi felt as if he had been punched in the gut. He half-rose from his seat, pausing only as Shikaku put a hand on his shoulder. The rest of the room was fully alert now, the sleepy dazes that many of the members had been in were completely gone.

"There were two assailants, one has been neutralised and the other captured. Uchiha Itachi-sama was first on the scene, and he sent up a flare which brought my partner and myself from where we had been patrolling. When we arrived, the Yamanaka heiress told us that Itachi-sama had left with Lady Yamanaka who needed immediate medical attention. My partner has taken the heiress to the hospital and other officers are securing the scene and the captive while I left to report. I am uncertain as to Lady Yamanaka's condition, but the heiress had several non-life-threatening injuries."

Inoichi's mind raced as he processed the information. Speculation of who had attacked his family was touched upon and then immediately discarded as irrelevant for now. He would get to the bottom of it later; the most important thing right now was his children and his wife.

Shikaku's hand dug into his shoulder firmly as he said, "Inoichi, go to the hospital. I'll handle it here."

Inoichi gave a tight nod and disappeared from the room in a blurringly fast shunshin, feeling Chouza hot on his heels. While he was grateful for his teammates' support, he was only able to focus on the dread in his stomach and the worry he had for Airi, Ino and his unborn son. Reaching the hospital in a length of time that seemed way too long, Inoichi burst through the doors and barrelled for the receptionist.

"My wife was brought in here, where is she?" Inoichi demanded with none of his usual politeness or tact. The receptionist, a middle-age woman with a spine of steel gained from dealing with testy injured shinobi and their loved ones, promptly and calmly recited the room number.

"Fourth floor, room nineteen, Yamanaka-sama."

Inoichi was off before she had finished speaking, barely registering Chouza thanking the receptionist behind him. He bolted up the stairs, and upon reaching the fourth floor promptly veered into another room after detecting Ino's chakra signature. It was weaker than normal, signifying she had used some chakra, but it was there, and that meant Ino was alright. Entering the room, Inoichi was greeted by the sight of his daughter sitting on a bed with a medic-nin hovering at her back. An Uchiha police officer with the whirling sharingan stood in the corner of the room nodded politely to them after scanning them with his eyes. Inoichi's breath caught in his throat as he saw the blood smudged on his little girl's face.

His six-year-old daughter looked up at him and relief instantly shone on her features before wariness crept in. Inoichi couldn't stop the hiss of breath he took in. He instantly linked her caution with the common tactic assassins use, presumably taking on his appearance to approach his family. Whilst he was boiling inside, Inoichi didn't let any of the rage he felt show on his features as he held his hands in front of him.

"Yesterday we ate steak for dinner and you didn't eat your peas. I told you that you weren't leaving the table until you ate all of them, and you then proceeded to sneak them off your plate and onto your mother's. I read you the history of Yamanaka Genji, and you laughed at how he was famous for possessing pigs and asked me if that's where we got our naming tradition from. I tucked you into to bed and said 'goodnight princess' like I always do."

When Inoichi had finished, Ino leapt off the hospital bed and threw herself at him, clutching at his waist. Inoichi crouched down and hugged her back just as fiercely.

"Daddy, is mommy okay?" Ino asked after her crying had wound down.

Inoichi smoothed her blonde hair down comfortingly, noticing the dried blood in it with anger.

"The doctors are taking care of her now, they'll be doing the best they can to help her. And Konoha has the best doctors in the world."

Inoichi didn't want to lie and say that Airi would be ok, because he couldn't promise that since he didn't know of her condition. So he gave what reassurances he could and hoped it would be enough. Turning to look over his shoulder at Chouza, he tilted his head, gesturing for him to approach.

"Ino, Uncle Chouza is going to stay with you while I go and find out how your mother is, okay? Why don't you go and let the medic-nin finish healing you now."

Ino nodded her head obediently, moving back to where the healer had been waiting patiently and unobtrusively. Chouza went over to Ino's bedside, sitting in the chair before nodding to Inoichi.

Inoichi left the room, knowing that if it came to it, Chouza would protect Ino with his life. He hurried down the corridor and to the room where he could feel his wife's fluctuating chakra signature in. A young dark haired boy stood outside the door, and black eyes flashed red as he came into view. Uchiha Itachi nodded his head politely, but did not say anything as Inoichi rushed into the room.

He was met with chaos on the other side; the room was full of medics bustling around a bed, shouting orders and medical jargon to each other. Airi was pallid and sweating heavily, her face displaying a greyish tinge. Doctors with glowing green hands stood on either side, their expressions a mask of concentration. Inoichi hurried to his wife's side, and Airi looked up at him with relief and smiled.

"Inoichi." Airi said happily, but with an underlying tone of pain. She lifted a hand up and he grabbed it, squeezing it comfortingly.

"Airi, how are you feeling?" Inoichi smiled down at her, letting some of his worry show on his face.

"I've been better." Airi snorted, some of her regular attitude becoming apparent. Inoichi couldn't help but smile, brushing a strand of sweaty hair off her face. Airi's expression turned worried.

"Ino, is she okay?"

Inoichi nodded his head.

"Don't worry, she's safe. Chouza and an Uchiha are with her now." He said reassuringly.

Airi relaxed somewhat, the lines on her face easing.

"She was so fierce." She said proudly. "You know she protected me and her brother?"

Inoichi smiled at that.

"Of course she did, she _is_ our daughter."

Apprehension crept over Airi's face again.

"She was the one to kill the assassin you know. I was hit and couldn't move, and she just dashed over and stabbed him in the leg. She came back even after she was knocked into a tree, and when he grabbed her, she got him in the neck."

Inoichi couldn't help his surprise at that. Airi smiled at him tiredly and said in a strange mix of sadness and pride:

"A true ninja child."

Inoichi swallowed the lump that had somehow appeared in his throat.

"She is."

If his voice was somewhat croaky, neither of them commented.

"Yamanaka-sama?"

Both Inoichi and Airi glanced up at the interruption. A man that Inoichi recognized as the head medic, Yakushi, was standing over them apologetically.

"I have news of your wife's status."

Inoichi nodded his head, trepidation setting in once more.

"She received a blow to her upper abdominal area, and this has caused the placenta in her womb to become severely damaged. I'm afraid that it cannot be completely repaired due to the extent of the injury to it, and this has caused the baby's chakra system to instinctively drain chakra from your wife's system to sustain himself. At the moment, both your wife and child are stable, but this is merely a temporary fix. Eventually Lady Yamanaka's chakra system will deteriorate at a rate faster than we can fix it, and this will cause both her death and the baby's."

A cold chill spread all across Inoichi's body, disbelief and fear causing his breath to hitch. It was Airi who spoke, sounding remarkably calm for the situation.

"What can be done?"

Dr. Yakushi nodded his head at her saying, "We have two options. The first is to terminate the pregnancy, stopping the chakra damage to your system, and we can remove the body after stabilising you properly."

"No!" Airi burst out instantly, fierce strength in her voice. "We will not be killing him!"

Inoichi squeezed her hand desperately.

"What is the second option?" He asked, his voice finally coming back to him.

"We can induce labour now and deliver the baby. However, because this is barely your eighth month, your child will be premature and with the damage sustained, there is a chance that he may not survive anyway. After delivery, we will do our best to repair your chakra system, but a regular birth always strains the mother's system, and with the condition that you're in now, it is highly likely that you will not survive. I'm sorry for only giving bad news."

Yakushi finished, his face solemn.

To Inoichi, he was faced with an impossible choice. His son or his wife. How was he supposed to choose?

"The second option." Airi stated firmly. "Induce the labour now."

Inoichi turned startled eyes to her.

"Airi-" he started, but was cut off by his wife glaring ferociously at him, looking more determined than he had ever seen her, even in battle.

"No, Inoichi, I will not be killing our son. Today I failed to protect Ino, and she was forced to take a life so early. I will not be failing my other child."

Her voice rang with determination and that stubbornness that had led him to fall in love with her.

Inoichi cleared his throat as his eyes burned.

"I understand." He croaked, his shoulders slumping in defeat.

Airi softened, her fierceness fading away into fondness. She reached up from her prone position to cradle his face in her hands.

"Don't look so sad, I may not be dying today. And even if I am, it is a good death. I always thought I would die in the war, bleeding out on the ground like so many others. I have lived happily and I was able to raise our daughter, even if only for a short while. To give my life for our child's, I cannot imagine a more worthwhile death."

Inoichi placed his hand over the one on his cheek. Blinking back tears, he mustered a smile for her even though his chest felt like someone was clawing at it.

"I'll- I'll go get Ino then."

Reluctantly moving away, Inoichi placed her hands back onto the top of her stomach, standing up and moving for the door. The medics scurried back to their positions, having backed away to give them some semblance of privacy.

He walked to Ino's room in a daze. Moving over to her, he noticed Chouza scrutinising his face, but he wasn't in the mood to explain anything at the moment. The medic had finished with Ino's back while he was away, and she was sitting with Chouza, looking exhausted.

"Ino?" He said softly. "We're going to see your mother now."

"Mommy?" Ino perked up, hopping off of Chouza's lap. "Is she ok?"

Inoichi swallowed heavily, which didn't go unnoticed by the others in the room.

"She's going to give birth to your baby brother soon. Let's go see her, ok?"

Ino nodded her head, her shoulder length blonde hair bouncing with the movement. The men had also noticed the fact that Inoichi avoided her question, and they both had solemn looks on their faces. Ino grabbed Inoichi's hand and they left the room, Chouza and the Uchiha officer shadowing further behind.

The two Yamanaka entered Airi's room to find her waiting, pale-faced but smiling.

"Mommy!"

Little Ino ran towards her, clambering up onto the hospital bed and giving her mother a hug. Airi hugged her back just as tightly.

"Ino, I'm so glad that you're safe." Airi said smiling at her daughter.

"Mommy, I was so scared." Ino choked out between her tears.

Airi patted her hair down soothingly, and then pulled Ino's small hands away from her eyes so that she could look at her.

"You are so strong Ino. And you protected your brother and me. It doesn't matter how scared you were, it only matters what you do. I'm so, so proud of you Ino. My beautiful little girl is now a fierce kunoichi."

Ino sniffled and smiled weakly at her mother.

"Your baby brother will be coming into the world today. There will be no more need to wait, you'll get to meet him soon."

"Really?" Ino perked up at that.

Airi smiled.

"Yes. Exciting isn't it?"

Ino nodded her head rapidly.

"Lady Yamanaka?" A female voice sounded. "Apologies for the interruption, but we should begin now."

Airi inclined her head in acknowledgement at the nurse, before turning back to Ino. Inoichi chose that moment to step forward and pick Ino up and lift her off the bed.

"This might take a while, so why don't you and Uncle Chouza go and get something to eat?" He said.

"Okay Daddy. How long will it be, I want to meet my brother now." Ino turned blue eyes up at him.

Despite everything that had happened, Inoichi felt his lips tug up.

"I don't know, it might be a few hours, maybe longer. We'll see you soon though, I promise."

Inoichi watched as Chouza and Ino went down the hallway, police officer once again following them for extra protection. He turned to the silent, ever-present Uchiha heir standing dutifully outside the door.

"Thank you for saving my family, Itachi-san." Inoichi said, addressing the eleven-year-old chuunin. "I apologize for my rudeness in not saying so earlier."

Itachi shook his head before smiling faintly.

"There is no need to apologize Yamanaka-sama, you were worried about your family. And I was merely doing what any other Konoha ninja would do."

Inoichi smiled slightly at the young prodigy.

"Regardless, I'm grateful. If not for your timely intervention, I fear I would not have a family left to worry about."

Inoichi bowed to him to signify his gratitude. As a clan head, he didn't have to bow for anyone except for the Hokage and nobility. It was a significant gesture to do so before someone else, clan heir or not. Straightening up, Inoichi nodded to the somewhat surprised Uchiha before going back into his wife's room. She may not have many hours left in this world, so Inoichi would spend all that she had remaining by her side.

~~~~~~~~~N~~~~~~~~~

Ino and Chouza had gone to the hospital cafeteria and had eaten a decent amount of food between them. That had been two hours ago. They were now sitting on some of the chairs in a waiting room located at the end of the fourth floor corridor. Ino waited impatiently in excitement for the first half hour, but after that, her enthusiasm waned and exhaustion crept back in. An unknown amount of time passed, and Ino found herself being shaken awake by her father.

"Come on Ino, let's go see your little brother now."

Her father smiled, and it looked tired and somewhat strained, but Ino was too thrilled to notice. Bouncing into the room, an exhausted Yamanaka Airi greeted them with a glowing smile, a small bundle cradled to her chest and a medic-nin hovering over the baby with green palms.

"Mommy! Is that him?" Ino asked excitedly.

Airi nodded. "Ino, meet your little brother, Yamanaka Isamu." She said proudly.

Ino peered at the little face peeking out of the blanket.

"He's so small! And wrinkly."

Her parents and the medic chuckled at that.

"You were wrinkly when you were born as well, you know." Her father said, humour lacing his voice.

"What!" Ino crinkled her nose. "There's no way, I was _born_ cute. And awesome." She added as an afterthought.

Her mother smiled affectionately down at her, reaching a hand to ruffle her hair as the adults laughed again.

"Of course you were darling." Airi said fondly.

"Daddy? How come you didn't name him with an 'Ino' as well?"

Inoichi pulled Ino into his side as he smiled at his family.

"Traditionally, only the firstborn son is named with 'Ino' in their name. But since you were born as the heiress, you were given the honour. The first girl in our clan to receive the name, actually."

Ino beamed with pride at that. The family moment was interrupted by the medic shuffling.

"Lady Yamanaka, I apologize, but we need to get your son on a ventilator soon. His breathing may get worse."

Her mother looked somewhat worried as she nodded reluctantly and kissed Isamu's forehead before handing him over the medic, who promptly carried him to the other side of the room. Only now did Ino notice the slight rasp as the small baby breathed in and out.

"What's wrong with him? Is he going to be ok?" Ino asked worriedly, looking between her mother and father.

Inoichi gave a faint smile that belied his worry.

"Don't worry Ino, it's just a breathing problem. He should be fine as long as he stays in the hospital for now."

Ino reluctantly nodded her head, trying to calm the sudden rush of worry she felt for her baby brother. At that moment, her mother cried out, clutching her stomach.

"Airi!"

Doctors converged near her bed, green flickering to life in their hands.

"Shit! She's losing blood and her tenketsu are mangled. The five chakra pathways we repaired earlier have ruptured again! Grab the -"

Ino's eyes were focussed on her mother's greying face as she tuned out the words she didn't understand.

"Daddy? What-what's happening?" She asked in a small voice, not tearing her gaze away from her mother.

She heard Inoichi swallow heavily next to her, prompting her to turn to him. Dread crashed over her as she saw his face. She had never seen such a… _defeated_ look on her father's face before. Ever.

"Daddy?" She repeated, panic creeping into her voice.

Inoichi didn't answer; he just gently moved her to stand next to Airi and nudged her closer to her mother's face. Airi turned and smiled tenderly at Ino despite the pain she must have been in.

"Ino. My beautiful, brave little girl. I'm so proud of you. Thank you for protecting me and your brother. Promise me that you will continue to do so."

"I-I promise. Mommy, why are you saying this?" Ino asked, the fear in the pit of her stomach increasing. Airi ignored her question.

"Work hard in class, but not too hard that you forget to have fun. I know you like to be the best in everything, but it's okay not to be. Pick something that you really like and work hard at that."

"M-mommy?" Ino clutched at her mother tightly.

"Listen to your father, and try not to give him too much trouble. As for boys, choose someone who is kind to you, and treats you well. Be careful of the handsome ones, they're always the most trouble. Your father certainly was."

Airi chuckled at this, a wet, gurgling noise. Inoichi choked out a sound that was a mix between a laugh and a sob. Ino was holding onto her mother desperately now, eyes wide.

"Wh-why are you saying this?" Ino forced out, asking again.

Airi smiled again, the expression looking out of place with her pale face and the sweat trickling down her brow. When she spoke again, her voice was weak and rough.

"I'm sorry I won't be here for you. All three of you. Thank you for being my family, and I love you all so much. My most precious people."

Ino's eyes filled with tears and she shook her head violently.

"No, no." She said woodenly.

Airi gave one last final smile, her warm brown eyes fluttering shut.

"We're losing her! Fix the chakra ruptures, she's losing blood too fast!"

Doctors rushed about the bed as Ino stared uncomprehendingly at her mother.

"Mommy?"

Ino didn't recognize her own voice when she spoke. Trembling hands reached towards her mother's familiar face, desperately tangling them in her hair.

"Wake up. Mommy?" Ino sobbed out.

Turning to her father she asked:

"Daddy? Why isn't she waking up, why isn't she waking up!" Her voice rose as she demanded an answer from her father.

Inoichi just held her tightly, and his mouth opened, but nothing came out. Ino turned back to Airi, lying prone on the hospital bed.

"Mommy! Wake up!"

She turned to the doctors now, watery blue eyes beseeching.

"She's not waking up, _do_ something! She's supposed to be awake!" The last word came out choked and garbled as she felt her throat tighten.

When Ino realised none of the medic-nin's would meet her eyes, she turned desperately back to her father.

"Daddy! Wake her up, please wake her up!"

Inoichi knelt down next to her, hugging her tightly.

"I'm sorry Ino."

It was the tears that convinced her. Never in her entire life had she ever seen her father cry. Not once, not ever.

"No. No, no, no, no, NO!"

Ino struggled as fiercely as she could in her father's arms, but he didn't move an inch. Straining against him was useless, but she tried over and over again to move. After a minute's struggle, she sagged into him, her strength gone. Tears leaking from her eyes, she stood there limply.

"It's not fair."

Her words came out as a broken sound, and then she wrapped her arms around her father and cried.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Yamanaka Airi's funeral was held a few days later. It was a sombre affair that many people turned up to - even the Hokage himself was there, dressed in black and looking solemn. Ino stood in the front row in a daze, her blue eyes blank and missing their usual sparkle of mischief as she held tightly onto a bunch of her mother's favourite flowers, azaleas.

It was fitting, Ino absently thought. Traditionally, Azaleas meant _take care._ They were also the symbol for femininity, and alternatively could translate as _stay beautiful._

She wondered if her mother had known; known that at her funeral, her favourite flower would tell her daughter what she wanted to say.

Ino spent the first few days alternating between crying her eyes out in her room and staring blankly up at the ceiling. Her usual motivation and restlessness was completely gone, leaving her feeling listless. Her father was run off his feet between coordinating security around the compound, interrogating the captured assassin, and dealing with his own grief. He tried hard to be there for her, but he was gone more often than not and came home late into the night.

Ino had woken up numerous times due to nightmares, either about the assassin managing to kill her, or of him stabbing her whole family whilst she watched on, helpless and unable to move. The first time, she had run to her parent's – now her father's – room and curled up next to him, crying herself to sleep. After a few days of this, Ino had noticed the dark bags under Inoichi's eyes were getting worse, and so the next time she woke up she just lay in her bed, eyes wide with terror and clutched her knees to her chest until the hours ticked by and the exhaustion dragged her back to sleep.

The only disruption to her grieving was when Inoichi had taken her to see her little brother again, who was still in the hospital's NICU on a ventilator and struggling to breathe properly by himself. Ino had stood there, peering at him for a good few hours; he was just so small and delicate, with his little nose and tiny hands. When she got bored of just looking, she found herself talking to him, telling him about everything and anything that popped into her head.

"Yamanaka Isamu." Ino tested the name out loud to herself.

"Mommy named you 'courage'. You know, everyone in the clan is saying how brave and courageous I was when I killed the assassin. But I didn't feel brave, I was just so scared that I didn't know what else to do." Ino paused and sighed. "Mommy was the real brave one. She saved me, and then she was fighting the attacker super quickly, I couldn't even see them move. I was just lucky when I got him."

She glanced around the ward, seeing it empty except for more babies and a few nurses on the other side of the room. Lowering her voice, she leaned in closer to her brother.

"I have nightmares about what could have happened if _he_ didn't die. They're really scary. But don't tell anyone I said that, because I'm Ino, and Yamanaka Ino isn't scared of anything." She nodded to herself, but it was missing her usual spunk and confidence. She sighed again.

"Ok, so maybe I am now, but one day, I'll be so strong that I won't be scared of anything. Your nee-chan is going to be an awesome ninja one day, you know."

Isamu took that moment to burble in his sleep and wriggle a bit. A smile rose unbidden to her face, her muscles feeling stiff at the movement. She belatedly realised that this was the first time she had smiled since her mother's death.

"Isamu, I'll protect you, like I promised mommy. I really miss her. I want her to be here, but she's not going to be."

Ino sniffled, her face scrunching up as she tried to stop her tears.

"Mommy was really nice, and pretty, and smart, and the best. I'm sorry she isn't here anymore. But your nee-chan will be. I'll take care of you, and I'll teach you everything I know, I promise!"

At her heartfelt declaration, Isamu did nothing but shift slightly and let out a squib of gas. Ino couldn't stop the giggles that slipped out, and she felt more alive than she had since the funeral. Her spirits somewhat lifted, she gave her brother a quick wave.

"Bye Isamu. Your nee-chan has to go home now, but I'll be back again soon."

Ino left the NICU expecting to find her new guard, one of the chuunin in the clan, waiting for her outside the ward. To her surprise, she was met with her history tutor - Yamanaka Tadao - instead.

"Tadao-jii-sama, what are you doing here?"

Tadao wasn't really her grandfather, but Ino honestly couldn't be bothered memorizing how closely related to her he was. So all the elders found themselves bestowed with the honorary title of 'grandfather' or 'grandmother' when Ino talked to them. Tadao smiled down at her, his wrinkled face genial as he held out his hand for Ino, who took it and together they made their way out of the hospital.

"I'm here to see how you're doing Ino. A lot of things have happened, and I want to make sure you're okay."

Ino nodded her head towards the man.

"I'm fine." She said somewhat stiffly.

Tadao graced her with a look that managed to convey his scepticism, disapproval and disappointment that she was lying to him all at once. Ino squirmed a bit, feeling guilty. Before the reprimanding look of the elderly man, it took only a few moments before she caved.

"Well, I _am_ fine." Ino insisted stubbornly. "But I could be better."

Tadao nodded his head agreeably.

"Yes, you've just lost your mother and had to kill someone for the first time. Most children are older than you when that happens, and you've experienced a big change. It's only natural to feel somewhat lost."

And that _was_ what she was feeling Ino realised as he pointed it out. With her mother gone leaving behind a gaping hole in her life, Ino was somewhat adrift. Her father was busy working, and although she didn't blame him for it, she wished he would be around more. Without her lessons, school, and her friends to distract her and take up her time, Ino was just there; not really doing anything but wallowing.

"Yeah, things are really weird now. Everything's changed all of a sudden, and I don't know what to do."

Tadao hummed. "That's perfectly understandable, you had been very busy before the incident happened. Perhaps you would like a history session today?"

Ino felt a sudden wave of gratefulness towards him. He wasn't skirting the issue like the rest of her cousins were doing, and the other adults in the clan kept giving her pitying looks when they thought she couldn't see them. Something normal was exactly what she wanted right now.

"That sounds good." Ino nodded her head, warming up to the idea.

"Excellent." The elderly Yamanaka said sounding pleased, and Ino felt his approval lift her mood further.

"We'll start where we left off, with the coup Yamanaka Kyou attempted to lead after he had gone insane when delving too deeply into the mind of a particularly bloodthirsty Kaguya."

They spent the rest of the evening in Ino's living room with old scrolls spread around them and Ino enthralled in the tale Tadao spun. Yamanaka Kyou had accidently brought back an imprint of the Kaguya he'd possessed when he left his mind, and that caused him to start lusting for battle and bloodshed. He'd then gone around imprinting his psyche amongst other members of the clan before the rest of them managed to stop him.

"Jii-sama?" Ino asked, uncharacteristically hesitant as they were putting the scrolls away.

"Yes Ino-chan?"

"Do you- do you think I could go back to school soon?"

Tadao looked briefly surprised before saying, "I don't see why not. Are you sure you're ready to go back?"

Ino nodded her head. "I like our lessons, and I want things to go back to normal."

"You know that things will always be different from now on, don't you?" He asked gently.

"I know!" Ino said, getting exasperated. "I know things will be different, but I want to go back and _do_ something that I would have done before, instead of sit around."

Tadao smiled at that, the lines beside his eyes crinkling.

"I'm glad Ino. You show your strength of character by moving on and continuing to live despite the tragedy that has happened. A very important thing a shinobi must do."

Ino didn't understand how that made her strong. She was just tired of moping around and desperately wanted something to distract her from thoughts of her mother, like the lesson had done today. So she just nodded her head agreeably and went with it.

"I'll speak with your father today, and you'll go to school again tomorrow. Would you also like to continue your lessons with your other tutors?"

Ino tilted her head, considering. "Well… I- I don't know. I don't really want to."

"Oh? May I ask why not?"

"Everyone keeps _looking_ at me. Like I'm going to break, or something." Ino scowled.

Tadao nodded his head in understanding. "Yes, I can see why that must be frustrating. But Ino, you know that if you avoid it, it won't change. You should go back and just give it time. If you behave like normal, people will treat you like they have done in the past."

Ino eyed him dubiously. "Really?"

He nodded again.

"Ok." She capitulated. "I'll go back to clan lessons tomorrow after school."

Tadao smiled. "I'm glad."

A minute of silence, and then he spoke again.

"Did you want to talk about your nightmares, Ino?"

Ino jerked in surprise.

"How did you know?" She asked, and then immediately cursed in her mind for giving herself away.

"Nightmares are a common thing people have after their first kill. I had nightmares too after mine."

Ino felt her displeasure at revealing a perceived weakness fade into curiosity. "Really? How did you deal with it?"

"My first kill was simple. Normal, you could say. My team and I had been hired to guard a merchant's caravan before the Second Shinobi War had started. A group of bandits attempted to steal from us, and I put a kunai between his eyes. Every time I felt guilty or bad for killing him, I told myself that in doing so, I had protected my client and his livelihood. I had ended the life of a thief who took from people and killed them after he was done. It took some time, but eventually I stopped feeling bad about it. I stopped being scared that he would somehow find a way to get back at me and hurt me, even after I had killed him."

He kneeled down in front of Ino, looking her straight in the eyes.

"The man that you killed had tried to kill you, your mother and brother. He _did_ end up killing your mother."

Ino flinched, but Tadao continued on unrepentantly, eyes drilling into hers.

"You _saved_ him. You saved your brother and yourself. Be proud that you managed to do this. Killing the people who dare to hurt your loved ones is nothing to feel guilty about, and certainly nothing to fear. You _ended_ him. He will never have the opportunity to hurt anyone else, ever again. If you see him in your dreams, remember this: he is nothing anymore. He hurt you, and in turn, you delivered justice. We protect our loved ones with everything we have. _That_ is what it means to be a ninja."

Ino stared at him, eyes wide.

"I understand."

And she did. She would have killed him over and over again, delivered a thousand deaths in order to save her family. She dreamed of the blood gushing under her hands and the all-encompassing horror and terror that she had felt when he went still. His glassy, blank eyes haunted her every time she shut her eyelids.

Now, Ino told herself that she wished she had done it faster. She told herself that he had deserved it and that she didn't feel bad, willing herself to believe. Maybe, if she hadn't been scared stiff, her mother could have lived. If she hadn't fallen for the transformation jutsu, would things have been different? If she had been stronger, her baby brother might not be in the hospital right now. If, if, _if_. Ino didn't know.

But she did know that things had changed. That _she_ had changed. Ino felt that she finally understood, just a little bit, what it meant to fight. She called herself a ninja, but she hadn't really known a thing about it. She understood that now. In the face of this revelation, she felt older, a little wiser, and a weight that had been hanging over her lifted. She was a ninja. They protected, with _everything_ they had to give.

"Thank you Tadao-jii-sama." She said, truly meaning it and bowed low.

Tadao smiled again, a satisfied look in his old eyes.

"I'm here to help, Ino-chan."

~~~~~~~~~N~~~~~~~~

Tadao left the clan head's house pleased. The heiress was recovering admirably from losing her mother, and she also seemed to like him well enough and had listened to his advice.

He had been worried when he'd heard that Inoichi's family had been attacked. The Yamanaka headship had been passed down from father to child for decades without fail, and he had been afraid that the cycle would be broken with Inoichi. Admittedly, the headship had sometimes gone to the second son, or even to the fifth on one memorable occasion, but it had always been directly inherited.

Thankfully, Ino had survived, meaning the position of clan heir wouldn't be going to one of her cousins. With Inoichi's new-born son's breathing difficulties, it was looking like young Isamu wouldn't be able to become a ninja. So despite some member's pushing for a male heir, it was becoming more and more likely that Ino would be the one to inherit the position of clan head.

Tadao had originally been sceptical of Inoichi's announcement of making his firstborn child his heir when Ino had been born female, but after getting to know her more he was seeing that despite her gender, Ino had that innate strength to endure that all shinobi needed.

He had seen her dedication to learning the ninja arts and that had made him willing to evaluate her seriously. Teaching her history was just an excuse to learn more about her personality and integrate himself with her. However, her killing the assassin had proven to him that she had the guts to do what is necessary even at such a young age.

Tadao had seen the aftermath of the First war, fought in the Second and a good part of the Third. He had lost more than most, and as a result had learned to evaluate things with his head, not his heart. He was what one would call 'a shinobi of the old guard'; someone who believed in doing anything and everything to accomplish his goals. In this case, his goal was the prosperity of his clan above all else.

Ino was young and pliable, ready to be moulded into a true ninja, not like any of those soft-hearted ones the academy was tossing out nowadays. Tadao had instilled pride and respect for her clan into her with his lessons, and now Ino understood the necessity of ending the threats to her family. Already, she was showing that she was capable of being sculpted into the ideal clan head; observant, calculative, dangerous, and ruthless. All the seeds were there, he just had to help them grow.

Tadao knew that if Inoichi caught onto his plans for Ino he would find himself summarily blocked out, all avenues to the heiress cut off. But he was willing to take that risk for the good of the clan. Subtly tailoring the way he spoke of history so that the decisive, ruthlessness was emphasised; telling her not to feel guilt or hesitation when it came to enemies; sharing his philosophy with her. All these things would shape her into a ninja that would lead the clan to prosperity.

He could see the way Konoha was declining. The younger generation was becoming softer with the false peace that had settled over the village in the wake of the war. He had seen the way the other clan heirs were coddled, even the Hyuuga were doing it if the rumours of their heiress were true. The only exception was the Uchiha - now _there_ was a clan that understood the world they lived in. Teaching their children just the same as they did during the war, not letting up in the slightest; Tadao approved.

When he had said to Ino that he was 'here to help', he had meant it. He _would_ help her when she needed it, and in doing so, he would craft her into a deadly weapon to be used against their enemies with prejudice; the perfect heiress.

All for the sake of the clan.

~~~~~~~~N~~~~~~~

 **Hehe, the Uchiha aren't the only ones with scheming elders.**

 **I'd like to thank you all for your wonderful reviews, they were very nice and encouraged me to write more. I'm on a bit of a writing roll, so hopefully the next one won't take too long either.**

 **Please tell me what you think of this chapter**

 **Blackbird0~**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

The classroom was bustling with children running between the benches and loudly shouting across the room. Iruka was running late today, and as such, the usual early morning chaos was even more prevalent than normal.

"So what did I miss last week?"

Ino was sitting next to Sakura at 'their' bench at the back of the room, away from the other wild children. Sakura was looking happier and pleased that Ino was back in school.

"We had a lot of tests, like fitness and stuff, and Iruka-sensei started the history book and addition. So you didn't really miss a lot."

Ino smiled gratefully. "That's good, it would be annoying to have to catch up with work already."

Sakura nodded her head in agreement. "Um… Ino, why did you miss school?"

"Ah," She forced a grin and shrugged. "Clan stuff. It's normal for kids from clans to take time off school to learn their family techniques. The Hyuuga miss a lot of taijutsu classes, and the Aburame take months off school because of their bugs or something, I'm not really sure. A lot of my cousins have had to miss school because of a training accident."

While what she was saying was technically true, Ino didn't really want to tell anyone what had happened. The clan kids all knew, but they also knew better than to say anything about it. Ino found Sakura's normal attitude towards her refreshing. After all the pitying looks she had garnered from her clan, Sakura's obvious admiration made her want to be worthy of her regard, so she strove to keep her strong front up.

Iruka walked into the classroom looking harried and stressed. Glancing over at the chaos, he immediately called for silence, but was ignored. A couple shouts later, and Ino could visibly see his patience snap.

"Shut up you brats!" He thundered. His voice was exceedingly loud and his head had grown to five times its size. Ino was taken aback, jumping in her seat.

"Whoa!"

Sakura giggled beside her. "That's Iruka-sensei's Big Head Jutsu, he uses it _all_ the times." She whispered to Ino in the now silent classroom.

"Now that I have your attention," - he glared admonishingly at them - "I'll tell you what we're going to be doing. You've had your fitness tests last week, and your times for the obstacle course have been recorded and every week we'll try and lower that time. Today, we'll be introducing shuriken and kunai."

A flurry of whispers erupted as everyone said something in excitement to their neighbour.

"Now, can anyone tell me why we start weapons skills this early but not ninjutsu?"

A boy with black spiky hair raised his hand. Iruka nodded to him.

"Ninjutsu is easier to learn after a lot of chakra practice, so it's taught during the later years in the academy. With weapons, you need to do a lot of work to throw them well, so it's taught early on."

Iruka smiled. "Very good Sasuke. That's exactly right, weapons need a lot of practice and so every morning from now on, we'll be doing shurikenjutsu."

A boy in the front row with what Ino recognized as Inuzuka tattoos on his cheeks gave a whoop and bounded out of the classroom behind Iruka, the rest of the class soon following. Ino was pretty excited too, she knew she was good compared to her cousins and she was looking forward to seeing if she was better than everyone else too. Her competitive spirit firing up, she grinned at Sakura who was looking rather worried.

"C'mon Sakura, this'll be fun!"

"Ah, um, I've never thrown any shuriken before. I've never even held a kunai either." Sakura said timidly.

Ino gaped at her. "What, never?"

To Ino, this was rather mind-boggling. Her whole house was full of weapons, random kunai scattered on every surface in every room. It was normal to have handy pens and kunai around in case one was needed. She hadn't been allowed near the sharp ones when she was younger, but she had always had a set of blunted blades for as long as she could remember. Now, it was a habit for her to casually swing a kunai round her fingers when waiting for dinner to be cooked, or when listening to Tadao.

Sakura shook her head. "My parents don't even let me near the kitchen knives."

"Right, civilians." Ino remembered. "That's so weird, I can't even imagine what that's like. But no need to worry, I'll help you with them!" She said cheerfully.

Sakura smiled gratefully. "Thanks Ino."

"No problem." Ino waved her off. "What're friends for?"

Ino watched people throw, those who had ninja relatives were better by a large margin. The throws done by the kids who had never held a kunai before were rather painful to watch. Shikamaru, Ino noted, despite his lacklustre attitude, was very good at shurikenjutsu. The other standouts were an Aburame, and the spiky haired boy who had answered the question earlier, whom Ino now placed as an Uchiha. He looked very similar to the Uchiha who had helped her – Itachi – and she absently wondered how closely related they were.

When it came to her turn, she confidently marched up to the throwing line facing the targets. Just as she had been doing for the past year, she sent them flying straight for the centre, nailing them with a solid 'thunk'. She turned back to Sakura, who was looking at the targets in awe.

"That was amazing Ino!" Sakura exclaimed.

Ino grinned, somewhat embarrassed but also very pleased.

"Thanks! It's your turn now."

Sakura hesitantly took the kunai Iruka gave her, holding it like he showed her. Ino winced when the kunai struck the ground before reaching the target. Sakura made her way back to Ino's side, bright red with embarrassment and shame. Ino nudged her shoulder.

"Don't worry about it, it's only your first time. Of course you're gonna suck. I did too when I first started."

Sakura looked up, red receding from her face.

"Really?" She asked tentatively.

Ino nodded firmly. "Really. How about you and me come back here after school and I'll show you how it's done."

Sakura perked up. "Yeah! That sounds good, thanks Ino-chan!"

Ino grinned back at her. Footsteps behind her caused her to turn around, coming face to face with two other girls in their class.

"Hey, I'm Izumi, and this is Harumi. Sorry for interrupting, but do you mind if we join you guys? We've never thrown these either."

Ino smiled friendlily at them before turning to Sakura.

"What do you think Sakura?"

Sakura looked startled at being asked her opinion before nodding shyly.

"Great, sounds like a plan." Ino announced. She felt the excitement of making new friends bubble up in her chest, causing her to grin happily at the group. Coming back to school had been a good idea, Ino decided.

~~~~~~~~N~~~~~~~~

Ino had settled into school nicely, her confidence and good grades gaining her the friendship and admiration of the other girls in class. Ino was pleased to see Sakura coming out of her shell a bit more when talking to their other friends, especially since Ami was no longer around. At home, she had taken Tadao's advice and gone back to lessons, acting as her usual self. After a couple weeks of her cousins tiptoeing around her, they too had returned to their usual behaviour, and the competition between them was back on. It had even heated up a bit since they began sparring, and now they could let fists fly without the ever-watchful Mariko saying anything.

Ino had told Tadao about her progress at both the academy and with the clan. She really liked how interested he was and how he always paid attention when she told him something, not treating her like a dumb little kid. When she asked him why his treatment of her was different from the other adults', he had smiled and said:

"I'll bet the assassin wished he had taken you seriously. It's bad form to underestimate your enemy, no matter who they are. Besides, you've had your first kill, which is a significant event for ninja. I am simply treating you as a fellow ninja should be treated."

Ino was rather flattered that he took her seriously. It was refreshing and made her want to be deserving of his opinion, so she made sure to put her full effort into her training.

~~~~~~~N~~~~~~~

A month into the school year found Ino packing her books up at the end of the day. The class had been covering mathematics that day, and as a result, many of the kids were bored and had ended up talking to their friends instead. Iruka had been forced to use his 'Big Head no Jutsu' numerous times.

"Ino-chan? Are you coming?" Sakura asked her.

Ino shook her head. "No, you go on without me, I want to talk to Iruka-sensei first."

Sakura nodded and gave her a wave. "Ok, see you tomorrow Ino!"

Ino waved back and Sakura left the room along with their classmates. She walked up to Iruka's desk, where he was organising some papers.

"Ino? What can I do for you?" Iruka asked.

Ino hadn't really interacted much with him before, only answering questions in class, so she understood his curiosity.

"I was wondering how you make your head seem so big when you're angry." Ino said.

She had seen him do it a lot over the past month, and it had only occurred to her today to ponder how. Her mind had been wandering since she was bored of doing math problems, and she had absently speculated what kind of jutsu Iruka was using.

He looked surprised that she was asking. "You know, in all the years I've been teaching, no one has asked me how I do that jutsu."

"I hadn't thought of it either until I was really bored today during the math lesson." Ino admitted shamelessly.

Her teacher let out a startled laugh.

"Well, it's actually a genjutsu that I use. I just magnify my head and voice. It's a very simple genjutsu that a competent academy student could see through. People normally recognize the genjutsu after we have a lesson on them, and the better students can break it."

"Oh." Ino was surprised. Suddenly a thought occurred to her. "Is that a test? To see if people notice?"

It was Iruka's turn to be startled before he smiled approvingly at her. "Yes, that's exactly right. If you pay attention, you'll notice lots of subtle tests all throughout the academy. Everything is assessed here, your actual paper tests and physical assessments only amount to a fraction of your grade."

Ino digested that slowly. "Huh. I see. Wait a minute, are you supposed to be telling me this?" She shot him a suspicious look.

He chuckled. "Technically no, but you've already realised the purpose behind my genjutsu- apart from getting you lot to be quiet- and I'm sure that you would have caught onto the other tests soon enough."

Ino smiled proudly at the faith he had in her.

Iruka continued. "Now, you can't tell anyone about this, or else it won't be an accurate indication of their abilities, ok?"

Ino nodded seriously. "I understand Iruka-sensei. I won't tell anyone, I promise." She perked up as another idea occurred to her. "Can you teach me the genjutsu?"

Her teacher eyed her speculatively. "Well, it's a very easy one, and I don't see the harm in doing so. Have you learned to use your chakra yet?" He asked.

Ino nodded her head in excitement. "Yes! I've started the leaf exercise with daddy. He says all Yamanakas need good chakra control to learn our family jutsu."

"Alright." Iruka nodded, and Ino's excitement increased. Her very first technique! She couldn't wait. He motioned to a seat and Ino bounced over to it before sitting down, staring at him in anticipation. Iruka smiled at her enthusiasm before beginning.

"First of all, what do you know about genjutsu?"

Ino thought back to her lessons with Hisaki, her reading tutor and also the one who taught her clan's kids the basics of the ninja arts.

"They're illusion techniques that you can put on people to make them think they're seeing things that aren't there."

Iruka nodded. "Right, that's the basic definition. You can also make people hear, smell, taste, and feel things that aren't there as well, like how I make my voice seem louder than it actually is. You know how chakra consists of both yin and yang?" Ino nodded. "Right, well genjutsu only uses the yin energy, or the spiritual energy. You put your yin into the target's system and use it to craft the illusion."

"Oh." Ino said in comprehension. It was like her clan's techniques, they separated the mental component of their chakra along with their mind and sent it into the target and use it to supress the host's spiritual energy and mind. Even though their energies are separated, they still have a connection or else they wouldn't be able to go back into their bodies again when disengaging. It was why any injuries done to the person they were possessing affects them too. A lot of the early training Yamanakas go through is focused on how to keep that connection so they don't get stuck in another's body. The better users in the clan can minimize the connection so any injuries they obtain are also minimized, but the connection must always remain.

"Most people start learning genjutsu with handsigns to help them mould and send their chakra into the target. They say genjutsu masters can make incredibly complex illusions and cast them with only a simple gesture to capture the target's attention. It's also why genjutsu is the hardest ninja art to master. It's very hard for most people to create complex illusions without handsigns and it takes a great degree of chakra control."

Ino was in awe. "Wow! So you mean they only have to, like, wave at someone and then they get caught in the illusion? That's amazing, you could end the battle really quickly after that!"

Iruka nodded his head encouragingly. "Exactly. That's why genjutsu masters are so feared, but also very rare."

"Genjutsu is amazing!" She enthused.

It was perfect! Ino needed to become a powerful ninja to prove herself to her clan, and Iruka had just said genjutsu masters were very fearsome. There and then, Ino decided that she was going to become a genjutsu mistress. Her clan even had quite a few scrolls about genjutsu since they specialized in yin manipulation along with the mind. Iruka had just said it was the hardest art to learn, but Ino loved a challenge and she loved being the best at things. One day, she _would_ master the art of genjutsu.

Eyes brimming with determination, she turned her gaze onto her teacher. "So how do I learn the jutsu?" She asked eagerly. She paused as another thought occurred to her.

"Hold on, you said that it was only masters that could do genjutsu without handsigns. I've never seen you use any. Are you a master!?" Ino directed wide blue eyes on him.

Iruka rubbed his head sheepishly. "Aha, I'm afraid I'm not. But the genjutsu I use is so simple that I don't need any signs. Plus, you guys are kids with mostly untrained chakra systems; you haven't learned what a chakra intrusion feels like yet. If I tried to use the jutsu on any ninja, even a gennin, they would notice it immediately."

"Ah."

"Shall we get started?"

"Yes!" She said.

"Right, let's start with inserting yin energy into a chakra system. Do you know how to grab only your yin energy?"

Ino nodded. It was actually the most recent lesson she'd been taught by her father, meditating on the feel of her mental energy. She made the ram seal, focusing on her chakra.

"I got it." She said after a minute of concentration.

"Good, now take the energy and move it out through your hands and into my system. Its easier to do when in physical contact with your target."

Ino, still focusing her hold on her yin energy took Iruka's hand and coaxed the yin down her arm and out her hand. It was slow and sluggish, but in the end it went.

"Very good Ino! As you practice more and increase your control it'll get quicker and less obvious to your target. But that was a very good start. Now, try it again, but this time imagine what you want me to see before imprinting it into your energy and sending it again."

"Imprinting?" Ino questioned, isolating her yin energy again.

"It's hard to describe, but you need to send your intent to me. You need to instruct the energy what you want it to do."

Ino didn't quite understand, but imagined her head growing bigger and thought about it really hard. When she grasped a portion of her energy again and moved it down her hands, she felt what Iruka had meant.

"Oh!"

The yin energy stayed the same, but it became focused, for lack of a better word. Instead of just being there, it was now given purpose and direction. The energy mixed with Iruka's before dispersing after a few seconds.

"That was good, I saw your head getting bigger just like you imagined it. Now all you have to do is structure the energy better so it'll stay in my system longer and the illusion won't fall apart."

Ino was strangely exhausted afterwards, her brain feeling like she had just done a hundred math problems in a row. Standing up, she gave a beaming smile to Iruka.

"Thanks sensei!"

He smiled down at Ino as he too stood.

"You're welcome. You did well for your first try; you have some talent with genjutsu. You should keep practising, both the technique and your chakra control."

Ino beamed at the praise. "I will! Oh man, this is so cool! Thanks Iruka-sensei, I'll see you tomorrow!"

Iruka was left to stare bemusedly after her as she ran from the room in excitement, not knowing that his simple 'Big Head no Jutsu' had just inspired a little girl who would one day grow into a legend.

~~~~~~~~N~~~~~~~

 **Yep, Ino will one day be super amazing! Alas, that is very far in the future, and at the moment, she won't be going past simple jutsu tricks. But the foundations for her future skillset are being laid now, and you'll see her growth as both a ninja and a person throughout. Itachi coming back in soon! Thanks for reading~**

 **Blackbird0**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Taijutsu, Ino found, was all about timing. You could be as fast or as strong as a jounin level ninja, but if you didn't know when and how to hit, then even a moderately competent gennin could defeat you.

Ino smirked at her opponent, taking care to make the expression exceedingly smug. Her adversary bristled, anger appearing on his face. She sauntered past him and into the taijutsu ring, giving her shoulder length hair a casual flip. Ino had to supress a smirk as she heard him practically steaming behind her.

Taijutsu also depended on the state of your mind, and Ino had found she was very good at throwing people off their game. When they first started sparring sessions, Ino had watched each and every one of her classmates from the sidelines in absolute silence and with unnerving intensity. It was only now, a full week after they had begun sparring did she enter the ring herself.

Today they were doing a non-stop taijutsu tournament, where the winner of a match would stay in the ring until they were defeated. Ino had been waiting for the opportune moment, and after Iruka had announced the tournament, she'd decided that now was as good a time as any.

"Hey Kiba, when are you going to get your nin-dog?"

Kiba glared at her from across the ring. "What's it to you?"

Ino casually examined her nails before waving her hand airily.

"Oh, no reason. It's just, I was thinking a puppy would be able to give me a better fight than you."

Their classmates around the ring let out a collective "ooh!" Kiba was fuming at this point, and Ino idly thought that if his face turned anymore red, he would literally start steaming.

"Oh yeah? What would you know, you've never even fought anyone before, you just sit on the side like a chicken!"

Ino just gave Kiba a knowing smile, one she had copied from her father. It was that infuriating one that he gave her that said 'I know something you don't.' Iruka, looking exasperated but also somewhat entertained, spoke up:

"Enough you two. Are you ready?"

Both of them gave their affirmation, and they began. Kiba was an Inuzuka, and as such his fighting style was wild, fierce and animalistic. Ino wasn't used to it and really had no idea how to handle him in a drawn out fight. However, she had wound Kiba up so much that when they started he just charged in recklessly, and it was easy for Ino to use his momentum against him and deck him onto the ground. A quick chokehold pinned him there and prevented him from moving. Iruka called the match in her favour, and Ino stood up, smug. Giving the class a sharp grin, she cocked her hip, placing a hand on it.

"So, who's next?"

One by one, Ino defeated them all, her week of observation serving her well. It may have sounded rather impressive, but lots of the class consisted of civilian children who were easily intimidated and dealt with. The ones she had anticipated would be hard to beat were the Aburame – Shino -, Uchiha Sasuke, whom Ino had found out was Itachi's little brother, and Hyuuga Hinata. Shikamaru and Kiba would have been a problem too, however although Shikamaru knew what she was doing, he was too lazy to fight properly. Kiba was very skilled in taijutsu, but also easily riled up.

Shino however, was as cool as a cucumber and Ino hadn't been able to find out what could shake him off his game. So she was left to launch a furious assault against him, taking him by surprise because in previous matches she had always let her opponent come to her. Hinata was surprisingly easy to beat. Ino had been wary, but after a few blows, she'd found that Hinata never took initiative to attack and seemed rather intimidated by her.

It was Sasuke who proved to be her greatest threat. He was incredibly skilled at taijutsu - much more than herself. He was also somewhat standoffish, and as such she didn't really know a lot about him. So she went with her gut instinct and took a stab in the dark.

"Uchiha Sasuke, huh?" Ino said, facing him in the ring. He stared back at her, face impassive but also a little arrogant at the same time.

"That's right." He said smirking.

He was very cute, Ino thought to herself. Not as pretty as Itachi, but very cute nonetheless. Still, good looks or not, Ino wasn't planning on losing.

"You're Itachi's little brother?"

"Hn." Sasuke looked somewhat surprised.

 _Good_ , Ino thought. _He didn't know that I knew that_.

"I've met Itachi-san you know." She said conversationally. When Sasuke didn't reply, she continued:

"I wonder if you'll be as good as he is." She speculated lightly, raising an eyebrow to show her scepticism.

Sasuke's face remained the same, but Ino caught the clenching of his hands.

 _Got you!_ She thought triumphantly. It wasn't hard to imagine Sasuke having feelings of inferiority with someone like Uchiha Itachi as his older brother. She hadn't known for sure, but now she had confirmed it. When Iruka was about to start the match, she gave Sasuke her sweetest, most innocent, sugar-could-melt-in-her-mouth smile.

"Let's have a good match."

Ino could see his temper boiling. Taking a deep breath, she braced herself. Just in time too as Sasuke came flying in with a rapid flurry of blows that had her defending from the get-go. He gave her the hardest taijutsu fight she'd ever had, and she came very close to losing several times. Sasuke had a superiority-inferiority complex, believing himself to be better than others, but at the same time always comparing himself to Itachi. He was both arrogant and desperate to prove himself. Ino used this.

When he came at her with a particularly sharp kick, Ino let it connect at her side with an 'oof'. Triumph glittered in Sasuke's black eyes when she let her form falter and left an opening. He launched a punch at her 'weakness' without hesitation, and it was Ino's turn to attack. Throwing herself back in a display of flexibility, she brought her legs up and wrapped them around Sasuke's over-extended arm. Twisting her hips, she wrenched him off balance, sending him crashing to the floor. What ensued was a wrestling match all over the ring, one Ino managed to win by targeting his sore shoulder. In the end, Ino was the one to rise triumphantly over her downed opponent; lungs heaving, sweat and dirt covering her form, but glowing with victory.

"Winner: Yamanaka Ino!" Iruka announced.

Ino's group of friends immediately started cheering and she grinned at them. Turning back to Sasuke who had now also risen, she nodded her head in respect.

"It was a good match. You're very talented." She said sincerely.

Sasuke scowled at her, but reluctantly nodded his head too.

"Hn. You were alright too."

Ino gave him a sunny smile, relieved that he wasn't holding a grudge.

"Don't expect next time to go the same way."

Sasuke got the last word before making his way out of the ring. Ino just grinned. She knew he was probably right and next time he wouldn't be underestimating her, but right now she was too happy to care.

"Well done Ino. But this was _supposed_ to be a test of taijutsu skills. Not of emotional manipulation."

Ino just grinned mischievously up at her teacher, unsurprised that he knew what she had been doing all along.

"But sensei, in a real fight people trash talk all the time to get the upper hand. I'm really just helping them so in the future they can ignore the mind games their opponents might use."

Iruka shook his head in amused exasperation.

"Well, you'll get no arguments from me there. Still, you should know that not everyone will fall for your tricks in the future." He cautioned.

Ino nodded. "I know. But that just means I'll have to practice more to get better. Right?"

Before Iruka could respond to her statement, Ino trotted off to meet with Sakura, grinning cheekily as she went.

~~~~~~~~~~N~~~~~~~~~~

Ino gasped, eyes ripping open in terror as she jolted up. Sweat trickled down her brow and she gulped down air like a drowning man brought back to life. Her hand automatically clenched, the familiar metal of her kunai comforting.

She glanced around her room, taking in the familiar lilac-painted walls, her pink clock, and her rows of shuriken and kunai neatly laid out on the vanity along with her hairpins. Ino took deep calming breaths and squeezed her eyes shut.

"He's gone, he can't hurt you. You killed him; he's never coming back. Isamu is ok, daddy is ok, and you are ok. He is nothing anymore. He's _gone._ "

Ino chanted these words over and over again to herself quietly. This was a familiar routine; one that she was pleased to know was gradually decreasing with time. Nightmares had woken her up almost every night for a whole month before they started tapering down in both intensity and frequency. Every time she woke up from one, she would remind herself that they weren't real and that her remaining family was still safe. For the most part this worked well enough for her to calm down and go back to sleep.

However this night was a particularly bad one, so Ino found herself stumbling out of bed and down the hallway. She cracked open the door of the room next to hers, silently listening to the sounds that came from within.

Somewhat laboured but regular breathing noises filtered into her ears causing Ino to relax at the familiarity. Tiptoeing further in, she crept over to where her little brother lay sleeping peacefully in his cot.

Isamu had been allowed out of the hospital after a month in the NICU; Ino had been over the moon. Her joyous mood lasted all the way until she was woken up at the ungodly hour of two in the morning by his wailing. Luckily for both her and Inoichi's sanity, Ino's aunt was staying with them to care for her recently deceased sister's new-born son. Without her, Ino was quite certain that both her father and herself would have been driven mad.

Ino had only asked once about the assassins sent after them. It was two weeks after her mother's death and she was back at the academy, struggling to appear like everything was normal. She had waited patiently for her father to tell her about the attack, but as the days passed, it was looking more and more like he wasn't going to. So she had summoned her courage, waited up past her bedtime for Inoichi to come home, and then asked her father who had wanted them dead.

Inoichi had stared blankly at her for one tense moment, before his face had twisted into a terrifying mockery of a smile, full of dark satisfaction and primal viciousness.

"It's been taken care of."

Ino had never asked again.

She remained in Isamu's room for ten minutes, just watching him and absorbing the reassuring fact that he was okay. When she'd relaxed enough and the nightmare's grip on her had lessened, she padded back to her own room, curling up under the covers. One hand reaching for the kunai under her pillow, the other for her pink stuffed pig, Ino drifted back to sleep.

~~~~~~~~~N~~~~~~~~~

Ino was bored. Bored, bored, bored, bored, **bored**.

She was attending the monthly Nara-Yamanaka-Akimichi clan get-together, the first one since 'the incident'. Only this time some of the Uchiha clan were in attendance, invited by her father as a gesture to show his sincere gratitude.

Normally she only needed to show her face for the meal, and afterwards she was allowed to run wild with her cousins. But this time, as the Yamanaka heiress, she was representing her clan and had been told by Tadao to behave properly and with maturity.

So Ino had dressed herself in a beautiful deep purple kimono, found a matching flower to tuck behind her ear, and had pasted her most sincere smile on her face as she welcomed the guests into the Yamanaka compound.

If one cared to observe, Ino's perfect posture, her graceful walk and her polite manners would impress them. They would comment on what a lovely young lady she was, and commend her father for raising such a wonderful daughter. Ino took her responsibilities as heir to the clan seriously.

However, that didn't stop her from being incredibly, extraordinarily bored.

If Ino had to make nice with one more windbag - more commonly know as clan elders - she swore she would snap and try to murder them with the kunai hidden in her sleeves. Shikamaru and Chouji were no help either. Even though they were heirs too, they weren't under as much scrutiny as she was.

Tadao had told her that because she had been involved in the incident that brought the four clans together for this event, she would be watched closely since the news that she'd been the one to kill the assassin had gotten around. It wasn't everyday that a six year old managed to kill a professional assassin, and even though she had managed it purely by instinct and luck alone, people were curious. Ino hadn't been happy to hear this, but had no choice but to bear with it.

She politely excused herself from a conversation with an Uchiha elder and a Nara elder about her progress at the academy, making her way across the room. She dodged past a pair of drunken Nara clansmen and moved over to where she could see her father. He too had just excused himself from a conversation and was moving in her direction.

"Having fun?" Inoichi teased, smiling as Ino scrunched her nose in distaste and shot her father a glare.

"Loads." She said sarcastically.

Inoichi laughed at her misery causing Ino to send him another annoyed look.

"Sorry, sorry. But you've been doing very well so far." Her father complemented. Ino felt some of her displeasure fade and her lips twitch up. Inoichi continued:

"Much better than Shikamaru and Chouji."

At that Ino rolled her eyes.

"Please, being better than Shikamaru and Chouji isn't what I would call an achievement. I swear, when they're together they become even more lazy and don't want to do anything but sleep and eat. It's like their bad habits feed off of each other's."

Inoichi chuckled, but before he could say anything more, a man approached them. He was tall and stern, his navy yukata adding to his intimidating presence.

"Inoichi-san. I would like to express my gratitude on behalf of myself and my clan for your invitation." He said politely, if somewhat stiffly.

Inoichi smiled courteously. "Not at all, Fugaku-san, it's our pleasure to welcome the Uchiha here. I owe the wellbeing of my children to your clan's actions. It was the least myself and the Yamanaka clan could do."

Fugaku – the Uchiha clan head, Ino now realised – inclined his head in response. Gesturing to his right, she abruptly became aware of the silent presence that had been there for the whole conversation.

"My heir, Itachi. I believe you have met."

Inoichi nodded, looking towards the chuunin.

"Indeed. It's nice to see you in better circumstances, Itachi-san."

Itachi directed a faint smile at her father.

"And you Inoichi-sama."

It was Inoichi's turn to introduce his child and Ino bowed politely to the both of them.

"My daughter, Ino. I believe she's in the same class as your son, Sasuke."

Surprisingly it was Itachi who spoke, his voice warming a touch:

"Sasuke has mentioned you. He was complaining about the girl who had beaten him in taijutsu last week."

Ino flushed, embarrassed but also pleased at the recognition. Fugaku turned towards her with an evaluating look, one eyebrow raised.

"Yeah, that was me." She said, unsure whether to be pleased, or sheepish that her victory over one of the Uchiha clan head's son was being brought up in front of him.

Inoichi ruffled her hair fondly, causing Ino to shoot him an exasperated look while patting it back into place.

"Ino beat her entire class and won the tournament." Her father said with pride.

"Indeed?" Fugaku said, sounding a touch interested. "You have raised her well then." He nodded to Inoichi.

"Thank you." Inoichi smiled. "Shall we find Shikaku and Chouza?"

"Very well." Fugaku nodded. Both parents shot their children an oddly synchronized look that ordered 'behave!' before they left. Itachi nodded his head seriously at his father, while in contrast Ino gave Inoichi a faux-innocent grin. And with that, Ino found herself alone with the Uchiha heir. She took the opportunity to speak:

"Itachi-san, I never thanked you for your help that day. I want you to know I'm very grateful."

Ino bowed deeply to him, finally voicing the words that she had wanted to say for a long time. Itachi looked mildly uncomfortable.

"There's no need to bow, I was simply in the right place at the right time to provide assistance."

Ino straightened and addressed him seriously. "Still, I'm glad you were. You helped save my little brother, and I never got to thank you properly."

Something in Itachi's demeanour softened slightly at her words. "I understand. You're very welcome."

Ino smiled a genuine smile - her first one this night - as he accepted her thanks.

"So have you attended many parties like this?" She asked, making polite conversation.

"I have attended numerous Uchiha clan events, but none such as this."

Ino nodded her head sagely. "Ah, so you must be an expert then."

Itachi raised an eyebrow in question.

"An expert?"

Ino nodded again. "Yep. At conversing with the old windbags."

Itachi let out an involuntary snort; his face then displaying muted surprise and horror that he had made such a sound. Ino grinned, humour bubbling up at having gotten a reaction out of the stoic boy.

"So? Any advice on which ones to avoid?"

When Itachi hesitated to speak, Ino discreetly nodded in one direction.

"Asari-baa-sama has a reputation for acting senile and crazy. But don't let that fool you, she's still as sharp as a tack and she loves embarrassing people. See the man with grey-brown hair in the corner? That's Yutaka-jii-sama. I normally wouldn't say this, but he's a real peace of work. He's very cruel, and he'll say anything to get under your skin and use any weakness against you. Don't give him anything to go on, or he _will_ use it ruthlessly. No one in the clan likes him, so stay away if you can."

Ino shifted again, drawing Itachi's focus in another direction.

"The really wrinkled guy by the drinks table is Tamotsu-jii-sama. He's the oldest guy in the clan, and unlike Asari-baa-sama, he really is senile. So if he talks to you, it's best to just agree with what he says and hope you can get away quickly."

Itachi let out a quiet chuckle and Ino grinned in response. Itachi then nodded to a few elderly male Uchiha talking together on one side of the room.

"That group of elders are very traditional. They will no doubt look down upon you for being female, and it is best to ignore such an attitude as best as you can, because no matter what you do you will not convince them otherwise. If you meet a woman called Kane, then prepare to have your every aspect of appearance criticised. The worst one, however, is Matsu-baa-sama. She is my grandmother, and she likes to" – here Itachi hesitated minutely before continuing – "coo and pinch cheeks."

The last part was said as impassively as the rest, but at the same time he managed to convey such revulsion and distaste that Ino couldn't help the giggle that escaped. Itachi just looked at her blankly as she covered her mouth.

"My apologies Itachi-san." Ino said, turning serious. "I will be on my guard for cooing and pinching."

He merely raised an eyebrow in response before replying, "You may find it humorous now, but don't say I didn't warn you."

Naturally, Ino dismissed his warning as exaggeration. Suffice to say, she was not amused when after a conversation with Matsu, Ino found herself with ruffled hair, sore cheeks – from both the pinching and her forced smile – and thoroughly fed up. They were saved by the timely intervention of Lady Uchiha Mikoto, who swept her mother away with enviable grace.

Ino turned to a similarly ruffled and long-suffering Uchiha beside her.

"I will not doubt you in the future, Itachi-san."

Itachi just grimaced slightly, smoothing his ponytail. Mikoto came back, looking amused as she took in the two disgruntled children.

"I hope my mother did not overstep her boundaries with you, Ino-chan. She is very… enthusiastic."

Enthusiastic was not the word Ino would have chosen, but she just nodded her head to show no offense had been felt.

"It's alright Mikoto-sama. No permanent damage was taken." Ino assured her jokingly.

Mikoto smiled, her beautiful face lighting up.

"I'm glad. Are you two enjoying yourselves?"

Ino made a face while Itachi didn't move but still managed to convey his displeasure. Ino really wanted to know how he did that. Mikoto gave a light laugh, covering her smile with her hand. Before anything more could be said however, a man approached the group. Ino took in his features with an inward grimace. His greying brown hair was up in the traditional Yamanaka ponytail and his dark blue eyes were cold.

Ino had never hated anyone as much as she hated Yamanaka Yutaka; he was a prime example of the Yamanaka's specialty in psychology gone wrong. With clan training on how the mind works, no one can match a Yamanaka's cruelty with words, and Yutaka had gotten increasingly antagonistic as the years went by. He had lost his team young, and after a long stint in T&I where he was known as the most sadistic interrogator, he had retired and now stayed at the edge of the Yamanaka compound. He was a bitter old man who loved to make others feel as wretched as he was for no apparent reason other than to see them as miserable as he himself was.

It had been after her mother's funeral that Ino had met him. He'd approached her with kind words and Ino had numbly accepted his condolences. That was before he had casually and in a light tone ripped into her, telling her how her mother's death had been her fault and blaming her for her brother's condition. He had laid her guilt out before her and had proceeded to tell her everything that she feared was true. If Ino hadn't been in so much shock, she would have been a sobbing mess. Her father had been _furious._ The other elders had been too, and banned him from approaching any of the children again.

They had considered executing him, but it was clan law that their clansmen should only kill a fellow Yamanaka if they had turned mad from something gone irreparably wrong with their techniques. Madness could be somewhat helped, and some Yamanaka who had gone insane in the past had been slowly rehabilitated. However, Yutaka was perfectly sane. He just chose to be the way that he was, and although killing him would perhaps be for the best, it set a bad precedent to break laws that had been upheld for centuries just because of what was, fundamentally, a difference in opinion.

"Yutaka-jii-sama. To what do we owe this pleasure?" Ino said coldly, a stark contrast to her bubbly character.

If Mikoto or Itachi were taken aback by her sudden change in demeanour, they didn't show it. Yutaka smiled at her, and Ino couldn't help the shiver that ran down her back at the cruelty in his eyes.

"Ino. It's lovely to see you again. I do hope you are doing better than the last time I saw you?"

Ino nodded, her own blue eyes like chips of ice. "I am." She said nothing more.

Yutaka turned his sights on the two Uchiha.

"Lady Uchiha Mikoto." He nodded at her before turning to her son.

"And Uchiha Itachi. How wonderful to meet you. I have heard a lot about you, the famous Uchiha genius."

The way he said it was in no way complimentary.

"Your reputation precedes you. Chuunin already at age eleven, and soon to be ANBU if the rumours speak true."

Ino stiffened at that. Only clan heads, the Hokage and ANBU commander should know ANBU identities. The fact that Yutaka knew was worrisome. Yutaka continued on conversationally, as if he was commenting about the weather.

"ANBU is dirty, dirty work; non-stop killing, torture, and ruthless assassinations of civilians and children. People go mad there you know."

Itachi had tensed minutely, his features even more blank than they had been before. Yutaka's eyes glittered. However as he opened his mouth again, Mikoto was the one to interject.

"Yamanaka Yutaka, yes?" She said deceptively lightly. "I knew I recognised your name from somewhere."

Yutaka turned his predatory gaze away from Itachi.

"Oh? Does my reputation precede me as well?"

Mikoto just laughed, a noise that sounded so very genuine when it couldn't possibly be.

"No, no, I remember my mother mentioning you. Uchiha Matsu? You were in her academy class, if I recall. In fact," Mikoto smiled happily, "She would be so very pleased to see you again. Come, I will let you two get reacquainted."

And without further ado, Mikoto looped her arm through the somewhat thrown Yutaka and proceeded to sweep them both away from Ino and Itachi. Ino stared after their retreating backs in a mix of disbelief and awe.

"Did she…?" Ino trailed off, voice faint.

Itachi relaxed slightly, his lips curling up.

"She did."

And so, that was the day Ino fell in love with an Uchiha. She had decided; Uchiha Mikoto was her new hero.

~~~~~~~~~N~~~~~~~~~~

 **Ino and Itachi's first real** **interaction: they bond over mutual dislike of clan elders, hehe.**

 **I've tried to capture the mentality of a child soldier here for Ino, getting the right mix of childishness and maturity. It's quite hard to keep Itachi in character as well. At eleven, he wasn't nearly as emotionless as he was after he'd been forced to kill his clan. At this point, there has been no talk of rebellion and he still has some lingering innocence that I presume he had lost in ANBU. His character will change as well, becoming more serious** **and restrained later on, but for now I've portrayed him as I think he would be at that age.**

 **Please tell me what you think:)**

 **Blackbird0~**


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

"If you cannot sneak into enemy territory and pass for a normal woman, then being a spy will be impossible. Today's lesson will be in flower arrangement. Now class, go off and pick some flowers."

Ino happily strolled through the blooming fields, inhaling the sweet smell of autumn flowers. Kunoichi classes were some of her favourites. They centred on disguise, acting, infiltration and espionage - essentially, her clan's specialties.

"Ino-chan, wait!"

Ino turned to be greeted by the sight of her pink haired friend face-planting in the grass.

"Geez, so clumsy." She sighed.

They sat in the warm sun and Sakura snapped the stem of a thoroughwort flower.

"I'm so bad at this stuff. What about you?" Sakura asked looking somewhat dejected.

Ino was surprised; Sakura's mother was a very traditional civilian and Ino thought she would have taught her daughter about flower arranging.

"What? But you're named after a flower!" She didn't wait for a response before continuing. "Hehe, there's a trick to this."

Ino knelt over the flowers, pointing to a beautiful pink one.

"If this cosmos is the main, then the thoroughwort you picked is the extra. Like the sakura flower in springtime, the cosmos is one of the most beautiful flowers in autumn and in flower language it means harmony. It goes perfectly with most other autumn flowers." Ino lectured, taking the thoroughwort from Sakura as she stared at Ino in amazement.

"Look! Does this go with me as nice as with the cosmos?"

"Y…yeah." Sakura said after a moment's hesitation.

Ino gave a mock frown. "Hey, what was with that pause?" She teased.

The shy girl giggled sheepishly.

A nasty voice spoke suddenly from behind the two of them. "You look like you're having fun today. Miss Huge Forehead."

Ino frowned sharply and turned to see three girls, identifying the one with oddly cut hair as the ringleader. Sakura also jolted, looking panicked. The purple haired girl leaned down threateningly into Sakura's personal space causing her to flinch back.

"You're trying to make yourself look better recently. Who do you think you are?" She demanded.

Ino had had enough. Thinking quickly, she grabbed three particular flowers and coated their stems in chakra - not enough to cause any damage, but enough to make it possible to throw them. As the bully opened her mouth to make what would no doubt be another scathing comment, Ino's hand blurred and the three flowers were sent into her mouth with enough force to knock her over.

"Ami-chan!" The sycophants called in panic as their leader fell over.

"Oh sorry, I must have mistaken that opening for a vase." Ino said sweetly.

"Ino!" Ami stood up in indignation.

"It may be weak, but that flower is poisonous. You better spit it out." Ino told her with a sharp smirk on her face, ignoring whatever Ami had wanted to say.

When the girls sprinted off in the direction of their teacher, Ino laughed.

"The poison is in the root though!" She said to Sakura cheerily.

Instead of laughing as well like she had expected, Sakura just looked down, upset. Ino tilted her head in confusion.

"If Ino-chan is a cosmos, then I'm probably a thoroughwort." Sakura said self-depreciatingly.

Ino frowned, annoyed at her confidence issues. "What are you talking about? If you ask me, you aren't even a flower. You're just a bud." Ino said bluntly.

Sakura put on the fakest smile and laughed unconvincingly. "Haha, yeah…"

Ino felt even more annoyed that her friend wouldn't even say anything in protest to her statement.

"Hey Ino-chan?"

"What?" She asked somewhat sharply, anticipating that she would put herself down again.

Sakura hugged her knees shyly. "Why did you give me this ribbon?"

Ino smirked at that.

"Hehe, that's because I thought it would be a waste… if you ended up as a bud."

The blonde looked down at the flower in her hand.

"A flower is meaningless unless it blooms, right? And it could grow into a flower even more beautiful than a cosmos."Ino gave Sakura a big smile.

Sakura's mouth wobbled as tears formed in her eyes, and Ino regarded her with exasperated fondness at what a cry-baby she was. She stood, dusting her trousers off.

"Anyways, if I were to choose a flower, I wouldn't be a cosmos." She commented and Sakura stood as well, discretely wiping her eyes as Ino pretended not to notice.

"Huh? So what flower would you be then?" Her pink haired friend asked.

"Hehe." Ino grinned secretively at her friend. "Let's hurry and get our arrangements done, Sakura."

~~~~~~~~~N~~~~~~~~~

"Well well, if it isn't Sloth and Gluttony." Ino drawled.

Shikamaru was typically unaffected and let the insult roll off his back, replying:

"And who are you? Pride?"

Ino couldn't help the grin that formed at his witty response, reminded of why she liked the two of them even though they were so lazy and ate so much.

Time had flown by, and Ino was now seven and in her second year at the academy. Everything was mostly the same although they now had a new taijutsu teacher, Mizuki, and one of her classmates had started pranking people. They had covered basic traps at the end of first year and one of the other blondes in her class – Naruto – had started setting them everywhere, thankfully with paint rather than kunai. Ino had been somewhat amused at the beginning, but it was now getting to the point where they just weren't funny anymore, only disruptive. The boy in question was always yelling loudly as well, and Ino – a loud person herself – was reaching her breaking point. But apart from the constant desire to shout at Naruto to be quiet, everything was more or less the same.

Snapping out of her introspection, Ino turned her attention back to Shikamaru and Chouji who had uncharacteristically approached her when she was with her group of girl friends. Normally, Shikamaru found dealing with the fairer gender too 'troublesome' and as a result he avoided her when she was with her friends, preferring to talk to her when she was alone. For him to brave the group of girls, it must be dire indeed Ino mused.

Knowing that she was curious as to his reason why he was here, Shikamaru spoke up:

"Chouji lost his kunai set in the woods. Will you come after school to help look?"

Ino sighed turning an exasperated look onto Chouji.

"How could you lose your kunai? Weren't you watching when you threw them?"

Chouji laughed sheepishly, turning a bit red prompting Ino to roll her eyes.

"I'll meet you guys after class."

"Thanks Ino!" Chouji smiled in relief while Shikamaru gave her a nod and they ambled off.

* * *

"I think it's around here. It's a precious kunai set, what'll I do?" Chouji fretted.

"Kunai are meant for throwing, so it can't be helped if you lose them." Shikamaru reassured him.

"But my mom bought them for me as a reward for getting into the academy. If I lose them she'll be sad."

Ino could see Shikamaru was losing interest and she could practically hear he was thinking something along the lines of 'so troublesome' – no Yamanaka abilities needed to deduce that.

"Chouji's a nice kid, so we're going to help him out." Ino shoved Shikamaru along behind Chouji thinking that as his best friend, he really should be more willing to help.

"What a pain."

A random shower of rain appeared from nowhere, interrupting their search.

"Eh, rain? But it's sunny too." Shikamaru questioned.

The sound of crying was heard and the three friends came across an odd looking person pinned upside down to a tree.

"Hey! Is that a person?" Ino asked loudly, shocked by the incredibly weird situation. It's not every day that you come across someone pinned to a tree, held up only by his clothes.

"Oh! My kunai!" Chouji, with single-minded focus, ignored the person and set his attention on his kunai set that he'd been so desperate to find.

"How did you throw them there?" Ino asked him, exasperated. Surely he would have noticed that he had hit someone?

"Anyway, lets go."

Ino watched, somewhat amused by Chouji and Shikamaru's attempts to climb the tree trunk.

"How pathetic." She commented as they failed and slid down.

"I still haven't learned the tree climbing technique yet, so I can't climb as easily as our dads." Shikamaru said reproachfully.

"But my precious kunai!" Chouji was still fixated on his kunai rather than on helping the crying kid who was stuck.

When the cloth pinning the boy tore causing him to flop over and start sobbing, Ino took matters into her own hands. Making a hand seal and concentrating, she put her foot onto the tree and slowly moved up. But before she could get more than a few steps, a sudden flood of water hit one side of the tree, breaking the roots and causing the tree to fall down.

Ino lost control of her chakra and was unceremoniously dumped onto the ground.

"Chouji!" She shouted in concern, standing up to see the Akimichi grasping his kunai and the kid with bright green eyes and a black sclera finally stop crying.

"Good-good!" He said.

"Huh?"

The rain stopped as the kid with foreign features laughed. Chouji joined in somewhat hysterically, relieved that he's safe. Ino and Shikamaru just ignored the both of them, focusing on the odd weather.

"The rain..." Ino trailed off.

"It stopped." The Nara was equally as confused.

As if to puzzle them further, the sun shone brighter and an odd 'weather for sale' sign fluttered down.

"I'm Yota." The newly introduced boy announced.

"Yota, is that your name?" Ino said, a bit confused that the boy would use feminine speech.

"You're a girl?" Shikamaru asked.

"I'm a boy."

"What boy talks like a girl?"

"Me." Yota said cheerily.

The Nara looked suspicious. "You're not from the leaf are you?"

A shiver of fear ran up Ino's spine as she remembered the last time she met an intruder.

"I'm different."

Ino remained calm despite her suddenly racing heart and questioned innocently, "Where did you come from?"

"From all over." Yota said happily, and she wondered if he's purposely being vague or if he just didn't understand the gravity of the situation.

"From all over? What nation are you from?" Shikamaru asked.

"None."

"What village?" Ino continued relentlessly.

"Don't have one." Yota laughed. " I have none none none."

Ino was really starting to panic, Yota's behavior sending up all sorts of warning signs. His emotions were all over the place and he wasn't behaving consistently at all. Ino's mind strayed to her teachings of instability and insanity as she breathed deeply, trying to calm herself.

Shikamaru voiced her precise thoughts. "We should let the adults in the village know."

Chouji, with his kind heart, immediately jumped to the kid's defense. "We can't! There was a big fuss not too long ago about a stranger coming in. My dad says there's big, big trouble between the villages."

Ino felt as if icy water was dumped on her and stared at her friend. Chouji had said it so casually, as if he didn't know. Ino thought he knew about what had happened to her a year ago, but he obviously had no clue.

"That's right. If someone like Yota showed up in the village…"

Ino gaped at both her friends in absolute shock. They weren't thinking of letting Yota stay and wander free!?

"Big big. Big big. Hehehe you're pretty big huh Chouji?"

"I'm not really big, just chubby." Chouji protests.

"You're a fatty fatso." Despite herself, Ino couldn't help but cringe along with Shikamaru.

"I'm not a fatso!" Chouji roared and launched a punch at Yota, hitting the log when he dodged.

"Come back!"

Yota was very agile, dodging every one of Chouji's attacks, something a civilian his age wouldn't have been able to do. Ino can feel her dread increase even more at the confirmation that the intruder was a ninja. Chouji and Yota's impromptu game of tag is interrupted by a growling stomach.

"My stomach is empty empty." Yota whimpers.

The Akimichi was reluctantly persuaded to hand over his snacks to Yota, and he watched in any as the smaller kid devoured it.

"I'm jealous." Chouji gazed longingly as his food is scarfed down in record time.

"More!" Yota demanded, rice around his mouth.

"There isn't any more."

"I'm starving. More!"

"Don't ask the impossible." Ino said annoyed with his attitude, and despite knowing he was infiltrating the village, she couldn't help her displeasure at his bratty attitude.

"One more, one more, one more." Yota chanted.

Ino snapped. "Stop that!"

She instantly regretted losing her temper when he burst into tears.

"Don't cry!" Yota appeared to be around their age, so why was he so immature?

"It's raining again while its sunny." Shikamaru instantly noticed. "Wait Yota was crying earlier too."

"Hey, stop crying!" Ino demanded angrily, the noise making her panic.

A flood of water splashed down directly onto her, shocking her and the weight of it forcing her to fall over face first into the mud.

"It's raining because Yota is crying!" Shikamaru realised, sounding vindicated after solving the mystery, completely ignoring his friend being soaked under the stream of water.

"I understand." Chouji said tearing up. "I'm chubby so I really understand how Yota feels."

The water pressure let up and Ino crawled to her knees. Despite it not having hurt that much, Ino could feel herself tearing up as well. Confusion was the main thing she felt as she wiped at her eyes.

"Huh?" She sniffled.

"Wait, why am I crying too? I'm not even sad."

When Shikamaru started crying as well, it was all Ino can do to keep herself from shaking in terror. Someone else was influencing their emotions! Yota had terrifying powers; controlling the weather and other people's emotions were such fearsome abilities. It was clear to Ino that she was out of her league, and she had to refrain from throwing herself at Yota and driving a kunai into his throat in a desperate attempt to stop such a dangerous threat from potentially hurting her friends. She would most likely fail if his other ninja skills matched his ninjutsu ones.

When they finally stopped crying, Ino strengthened her resolve and put on her most friendly and kind smile.

~~~~~~~~~N~~~~~~~~~

The atmosphere in the Hokage's office was stifling and Ino felt the weight of the scrutinizing gazes heavily. She was doing her best to appear unaffected, standing as impassively as she could along with her father, Tadao-jii-sama, Uchiha Fugaku - the head of the MP - and the Hokage's three advisers.

Inoichi was looking decidedly un-amused that his daughter had been caught up in another incident, only a year after the first. He was even less pleased at the fact that Tadao had Ino take in a suspect herself instead of just letting the MP deal with it.

The Sandaime Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen's dark eyes watched the Yamanaka heiress impassively, showing none of the grandfatherly affection he gave to the other academy students.

"Ino-kun, if you could please explain what happened?" Ino heard the order in his words despite the polite way he had worded it. She straightened her back into proper formal posture that she used in front of the clan elders and began.

"Akimichi Chouji, Nara Shikamaru and I were in the forest, sector 66-E, looking for Chouji's kunai that he'd lost. After being caught in a random shower, we encountered a suspicious person crying while pinned to a tree. When the suspect's crying increased, a large burst of water appeared from nothingness and knocked the tree over, freeing him."

The ninja who had been on Team Tobirama straightened in interest. Only the Niidaime Hokage had been able to draw water from the air, and the fact that a young child seemed to possess this ability was worrying.

"When the suspect and Chouji started laughing in relief, the rain stopped and the sun began to shine brightly. Shikamaru and I found a sign saying 'weather for sale', and then the intruder identified himself as Yota, no clan name. When questioned by Shikamaru and myself, he claimed he did not belong to any nation or village, saying that he had none. When Shikamaru suggested alerting our parents, Chouji convinced him not to because of the current tension already between the villages.

I didn't want to alarm him in case Yota was an infiltrator, so I went along with their decision. Yota displayed very good agility for someone his age, before collapsing due to hunger. After eating but being unsatisfied, he started crying again causing the rain to start once more. Shikamaru concluded Yota was controlling the weather. Yota displayed alarmingly bipolar behaviour, laughing one moment before crying hysterically the next. I believe this is linked to his ability to control the weather with his emotions."

At this point Ino looked a bit abashed before forging on.

"When I told him there was no more food, he managed to created a heavy wave of water that targeted only me. When the water had finally calmed down, despite not being upset, all of us were crying. I did not feel any mental intrusion, but I believe Yota was able to influence our emotions in some way. We got him to stop crying by promising to bring him more food before leaving, and I went straight home and told Tadao-jii-sama who notified the MP in the area. Tadao-jii-sama wanted to take Yota in peacefully, so he decided that I should approach him with more food. I laced some rice balls with a strong sedative and before leading Tadao-jii-sama and the two Uchiha officers to the clearing. The target didn't suspect anything and was successfully incapacitated before taken to T&I by the MP."

Ino finished and had to stop herself from shuffling nervously in front of the keen gazes of the others in the room. She could feel her father's gaze boring into the side of her head and inwardly cringed at the lecture she was going to get when she got home.

"I see. The village thanks you for your service Ino-kun. You've done very well in bringing our attention to a potential threat and capturing him." The Hokage said, giving her a smile.

Ino bowed in gratitude, trying to appear unaffected by the praise, but couldn't stop a smile from crossing her face.

"Thank you Hokage-sama."

The Hokage turned to Tadao and said, "While I disagree with your decision to allow Ino-kun to capture the infiltrator, Tadao-san, everything seems to have worked out. However in the future, the MP will deal with these matters, as it is their jurisdiction."

Tadao inclined his head gracefully. "Understood Hokage-sama."

Ino was relived that everything was over and she hadn't gotten in trouble. She felt bad about turning Yota in because she knew Shikamaru and Chouji wouldn't be happy with her, and she was just hoping to get this whole business over with now that the excitement of her first proper mission had passed. Just as she had relaxed, her father decided to pipe up.

"Where did you even get a sedative anyway?" Inoichi wondered aloud.

Ino froze. _Damn._ That was the one question she hadn't wanted anyone to ask. She couldn't stop her nervousness from appearing this time as she started fiddling with her sleeves.

"From some of the plants around the shop." Ino said casually and tried to wave it off even as she felt a sinking feeling in her stomach. She wasn't surprised when Inoichi's eyes narrowed and he didn't buy it for one moment.

"Ino." He said, a warning in his voice.

She deflated. "I got it from the greenhouse."

Inoichi's eyebrows rose. " _My_ greenhouse?"

"Yes." Ino tentatively answered, glancing at her father hesitantly.

He opened his mouth, reconsidered, before closing it and pinching the bridge of his nose and taking a deep breath. When he spoke, his voice was flat and calm and had Ino dreading what he would say to her when they got home.

"How did you even get in? I have it sealed, opened only with my blood."

Despite her father's anger, Ino felt a slight rush of pride as she thought of the practice missions Tadao had assigned her over the past few months. He liked to test her abilities by assigning her objectives to complete around the compound and village. They were all varied and pushed Ino to her limits in thinking of ways to accomplish them. She had done numerous, often ridiculous things – ranging from taking cookies from Yamanaka Hisaki's cupboard without her noticing, to convincing random civilians she was the son of a visiting noble who had gotten lost and was looking for her 'elderly caretaker' - Tadao also in disguise. It was a lot of fun and Ino had enjoyed them very much. However, the crowning jewel of her completed 'missions' was most certainly the one where Ino had finally gotten into her father's greenhouse.

Ino had been complaining to Tadao about how she wasn't allowed in, and no matter how she asked, her father was just as stubborn as she was about denying her entrance. Tadao had given her a sly smile she was very familiar with before saying, "Are you, or are you not a ninja?"

That had been the beginning of a daring plot that involved weeks of planning and research. She first had to gather information on the defences of the greenhouse and had done this by bringing it up in conversation with her Uncle Chouza. After casually mentioning her fascination with defence mechanisms and keeping people out of places, she had guided the conversation to her father's greenhouse and managed to learn that most clans used blood seals to protect things. She reported back to Tadao who told her she then needed to scope out the greenhouse in person.

When Inoichi next entered his room of poisonous plants, Ino was waiting by the door. Before it had a chance to seal behind him, she placed a stone in the way before waiting even more until Inoichi had immersed himself in his gardening. Sneaking around a jounin would never have worked if he hadn't been distracted, but Ino was his daughter and he didn't register her chakra as something dangerous and allowed the familiar signature to pass unnoticed. Snatching a glimpse of the seal matrix while her father was distracted, Ino had gone back to Tadao once more who identified it and gave her a crash course in her clan's seals. She hadn't understood most of what Tadao had told her (any of it really, not that she would admit such a thing), but she was capable of remembering the alterations she needed to make.

Ino sheepishly smiled at Inoichi's reprimanding stare before saying, "I altered your blood seal to allow it accept my blood as well."

"Altered the seal!" Inoichi spluttered, shocked that his seven-year-old daughter was messing around with something as difficult and dangerous as sealing. "I keep the sealing matrix on the inside of the greenhouse, you shouldn't have been able to get to it in the first place."

"Ah." Ino twisted her sleeves again. "I stopped the door from closing and then when you were distracted I altered the seal. The smell of the plants covered the smell of the ink I was using, and since you're so used to my chakra signature, you didn't sense me."

Inoichi was at a loss for words while the others in the room were eyeing her speculatively, and Ino felt her nerves bubble back up. The man with the bandages over one eye spoke up for the first time.

"How did you alter the seal?" His dark eye bored into Ino's with intensity and this time she couldn't help her gulp.

"I used the Blood Detection Seal in conjunction with an insertion matrix." Or so Tadao had told her when they covered them.

"And how did that work?" The bandaged man was definitely testing her. Ino wasn't sure if she was pleased at catching such an important man's interest, the gleam in his eye not sitting right with her. Still, this man was her superior and so she answered him.

"I pre-set the Blood Detection Seal to my blood and then drew the insertion matrix onto father's seal, connecting it to the detection array and linking it to mine. I also added variation two stabilizing formulae so the new link wouldn't mess with his seal too much and that stopped father from noticing any alterations."

Everyone in the room looked suitably impressed. Ino was just praying they didn't ask her anything else - she was just regurgitating what Tadao had told her, and she honestly had no clue as to what had just come out of her mouth. She didn't want to get him in trouble, and so if she made it seem like she had learned about it by herself, then maybe her father wouldn't ask Tadao what he had been doing teaching a seven year old about seals.

Tadao had mentioned that it was only after reaching chuunin rank that Yamanakas get taught their family seals, and he had broken the rules when teaching her to modify the seal even though he had emphasised the risks and made her promise not to deviate from the sealing script by even a single stroke.

Ino had been moved by the faith he had in her and the trust he had shown, and she wasn't about to rat her favourite grandpa out in front of the upper echelons of Konoha.

"Well," the Hokage spoke up, "thank you for your service Ino-kun. You have a lot of talent, and I look forward to following your career in the future."

"Thank you Hokage-sama." Ino bowed low to cover the relief on her face.

~~~~~~~~~~N~~~~~~~~~~

Tadao and Ino walked back to the Yamanaka compound alone, Inoichi having gone to T&I to get answers.

"Well done Ino." Tadao sounded _very_ amused. "You just successfully tricked the Hokage and his advisers into thinking you're a sealing prodigy."

"I know!" Ino wailed in distress, twisting her hands through her blond hair. "People are going to expect me to be good at it now! What am I going to do!?"

"Calm down." He ordered. "There's no need to panic."

"No need to panic?" Ino demanded incredulously. "I didn't understand a thing you told me about sealing!"

"Well we'd better rectify that." Tadao said unsympathetically.

Ino gaped at him. "You don't mean…"

"Yes. From now on, we'll be covering sealing and history." He smiled slyly down at her. "Won't that be fun?"

The people of Konoha were treated to the sight of the Yamanaka heiress dramatically wailing 'nooooo!' to the skies as she was dragged home by an amused but uncompromising elder.

* * *

 **I've** **gone back an edited the grammar of some of the previous chapters. If I've missed something, tell me and I'll change it.**

 **Thank you for waiting and as always, please leave a review on your way out**

 **Blackbird0~**


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

The wind swept through the trees, rustling the leaves and creating an impression that the forest was sighing gently. A brook burbled and the sun beat down onto the land below, filtering through the leaves and warming the earth. In a clearing in the forest, a large rock jutted out of the stream, and on top of it a young blonde-haired girl could be found. She sat in a meditation pose, her hands fixed into the ram sign, the most common hand sign for focusing chakra. In front of the girl was a rabbit that sat unnaturally still, not blinking or even twitching a muscle.

Pupil-less blue eyes focusing intently onto the mammal in front of her, yin chakra was shaped with precision and smoothly slid into the rabbit's chakra system. The brown-furred bunny blinked once before hopping to the right, left and then right again, before proceeding to mime picking something up and eating it. The girl released the ram sign and yin chakra dissolved, causing the rabbit to immediately stop eating the imaginary carrot and look up in confusion, catching sight of the human in front of it. The mammal's small heart instantly began beating furiously and it jumped back in fright from the superior predator.

The blonde raised a hand and slowly waved it in front of the rabbit, causing it to once again panic and look around in confusion. Minutes passed before the small animal finally relaxed and began eating the imaginary carrot again.

Ino smiled triumphantly as her gesture genjutsu took effect successfully. In the two years since she had learned her first genjutsu, she had advanced significantly. It no longer took her a whole minute to separate and gather her yin chakra - she could now do it in a fraction of a second. She could also ensnare all senses instead of just sight, creating true illusions instead of simple tricks.

Ino had practiced harmless genjutsu on her classmates subtly over the years. With a ram hand sign, she could ensnare any of her classmates in her sight without them noticing, doing simple things like making their pencils seem closer than they were, before dissolving the genjutsu when their hand passed through the illusion and they looked properly. Her touch genjutsu was more obvious; some of the clan kids had caught onto her during spars when she used it to throw people off her movements. Making people perceive her limbs as just that tiny bit shorter, or making their own limbs subtly heavier as the spar went on were amongst her favourite tricks.

Today was the first time Ino had gotten gesture genjutsu to work. Her unwilling test subject, the rabbit in front of her lived in a burrow near the clearing. Ino had named him 'Fuku', or 'assistant', and the poor rabbit found himself as her reluctant helper for learning the art of illusions. Ino picked up the rabbit, still caught under her illusion, and place him back at the entrance of his burrow. She jumped into the tree up above and dissolved her chakra, watching as Fuku looked around in confusion once again before hopping off.

The Yamanaka grinned euphorically, extremely pleased with herself as she left the clearing as well. Animals were much easier to trick than humans, their brains not able to comprehend that their senses could betray them. And although her gesture genjutsu had been sloppy beyond belief - the chakra flow unstable, the imaginary scent not quite right, and the initial intrusion extremely obvious – Ino had finally succeeded. She had passed a huge hurdle to becoming a genjutsu mistress and mastering the much feared gesture genjutsu.

Genjutsu activated without hand signs and without the target noticing or being able to escape is the mark of a master, and also one of the reasons why the Uchiha are so feared throughout the elemental nations. To look into the eyes of an Uchiha was said to be the same as looking at your death. With the sharingan, even the most inexperienced child could cast illusions that can capture you and prevent you from breaking free.

Ino hadn't had any formal genjutsu training per se – she hadn't been taught any of the set genjutsu activated with a specific set of handsigns. However, she had been taught about the human mind and how to dissect it and make someone _believe_. Ino didn't have the chakra to keep her genjutsu in someone's system even when they were dispelling it like some people could. Instead, what she excelled at was preventing people from noticing the illusion in the first place by making it so subtle and realistic that the whole time they were experiencing it, they never once realised they were under one.

She was shaken out of her musings as she approached her destination. Hopping out of a tree, Ino arrived at one of the training grounds designated for academy students to use. A brown haired girl spun around grinning.

"Hey Ino!" She said cheerfully, twirling a kunai around her fingers. "How've you been?"

"Tenten." Ino grinned back and responded just as sunnily. "I'm great. I finally got a genjutsu technique to work for the first time!"

The other kunoichi-in-training cocked an eyebrow. "Oh yeah? That's great! Is it combat ready?"

Ino shook her head regretfully. "Not yet, I still need to refine it a lot more. Maybe in a couple years."

Tenten let out a whistle. "Years, huh? That must be one hell of a technique."

"It is. Or it will be." Ino changed the subject. "So, same rules as always?"

A competitive smirk matching her own appeared on the other ninja's face.

"You bet'cha."

"Avoid the face though." Ino warned her, taking a stance with two kunai in her hands, a practice that she had adopted after she started sparring with Tenten regularly.

Tenten rolled her eyes, snorting. "You're so vain, Ino." She teased.

"Scars on women are extremely suspicious and a serious risk on infiltration missions." Ino said haughtily, although her words had the ring of someone who had said it numerous times before.

The older girl rolled her eyes again. "Just admit it, you're only worried about your looks."

Ino smirked cockily. "Can you blame me? It would be a tragedy if this gorgeous face was ruined."

Tenten laughed in response before taking her own stance and her face turned serious.

"Ready? Begin!"

Ino had met her upperclassman on this very same training ground after the academy ended for the day. Sakura had turned her offer of training down in favour of going off with their other friends to play, and while Ino was happy that Sakura had finally gained the confidence to interact with others without her always being there, Ino did wish that she had a friend who took their ninja training as seriously as she did.

She had missed quite a few play-dates with her friends after school when she had clan training, and although Ino knew that if she just asked her father, he would happily let her play with her friends, Ino had never done so. She didn't know if it was her obligation or duty to her clan, or perhaps it was just her ego, but she felt that if she asked to miss a training session, she would be losing. Losing what or to whom, she didn't know, but that was how she felt.

So Ino had faithfully turned up to Hisaki's lessons after school every day, even when the twin girls in her clan class several years older started going only three times a week, and the three boys who competed with her started skipping in order to hang out with their friends.

It was on one of the days when Ino was again the only one to turn up that Hisaki had patted her fondly on the cheek and told her that she had a day off. Ino had initially been rather stumped. She couldn't remember a day when she hadn't learned from Hisaki since she'd begun her reading lesson years ago, apart from the time when her mother had died. She'd wandered back through the compound to her house, hoping to find Isamu.

Her little brother was now two and a half years old, and Ino doted on him whenever she had the chance. His first word had been 'auntie', but Ino was proud that his second was 'nee-chan'. She was disappointed to find that both her aunt and her brother weren't home, and had wandered back to the academy feeling rather lost. She was shocked to realise that she didn't know where Sakura and the group went after school since she had never played with them unless it was the weekend.

More than a little bit lonely, Ino had made her way to the academy training grounds, intent on doing what she always did to stop thinking: bury herself in training. It was there that she came across a fellow academy student throwing kunai at several stumps. Ino, out of curiosity and in a bid to ease her loneliness had greeted the girl, and they instantly hit it off.

Tenten had high ambitions for herself; she aimed to become a kunoichi as great as Senju Tsunade of the Sannin. Ino aspired to those heights as well, and had been overjoyed to find someone who was also working diligently to achieve her dreams. Ino loved having Sakura as a friend, but Sakura didn't put in any effort outside of academy classes, which was unfortunately common for those from civilian families.

Since then, Ino and Tenten met up twice a week to spar and try out new techniques on the other person. Ino wasn't allowed to use her clan jutsu outside of training with her father, so she was left with taijutsu, shurikenjutsu, and genjutsu. Tenten had taken to carrying around tons of pouches filled with all manners of throwing weapons, as well as a tanto strapped to her back.

Tenten's mother was a weapon's specialist, and she had taken to teaching her daughter to be the same. Ino was very impressed with the other kunoichi's skill with throwing weapons and had picked up some tips to improve her own aim, in addition to being able to test out more of her genjutsu in battle situations. In return, Ino had taught Tenten a few chakra exercises and provided experience fighting against a moving target that could parry weapons. Both girls were very happy with the arrangement.

The spar ended with the typical result of Ino's clothes sliced and numerous scratches lining her skin, whilst Tenten had a nasty bruise from when she had gotten distracted by an illusion and Ino had landed a devastating kick. They had an agreement that Tenten would stick to her throwing weapons, working on the speed and number that she could throw at once, while Ino would stick to trapping Tenten in a genjutsu and approaching to deliver a killing blow, or in this case a good kick to the ribs.

"Whoo!" Ino stretched her arms, ignoring the stinging of the cuts that lined them. "That was a good workout, my dodging skills are going to insanely good if we keep this up."

Tenten grinned as she caught her breath. "And my aim is getting better all the time. Soon I'll be able to hit a fly from fifty feet, just like my mom!"

Ino shook her head, wiping away the sweat that trickled down her face as she did so. "That's crazy, I can't still believe she can do that. Although your aim _is_ really good, you'll have to show me when you manage it."

"Of course!" The other girl laughed.

Ino walked through the compound gates greeting the guards as she usually did. It was a common sight now to see her come home with ripped up clothes and bleeding gashes, so the guards only smiled and nodded her on her way. After a stop at her third cousin's mother's house – Ino was pretty sure that was the relation – to heal the worst of her injuries, she arrived back home.

"I'm back!" She called.

"Nee-chan! Welcome home!"

Little Isamu came running as soon as he heard his older sister arrive, and Ino couldn't help the huge smile that came over her face as he toddled over waving his chubby arms. She swooped down and plucked him up, mushing her cheek against his.

"Hey Isamu! How was your day?"

"Good!" He smiled happily. "Aunt Yume and I went to the park."

"Sounds fun." Ino chirped.

"Ino, are you getting blood on Isamu again?" Inoichi padded out of the living room and over to his two children still standing in the entrance hall. Ino looked down to find that some of her blood had indeed rubbed off onto her little brother while she hugged him.

"Whoops, sorry about that dad." She turned to Isamu. "You know what this means mister, bath time tonight."

"No, I just took one! Never again!" Isamu sprinted away in the same way he arrived by, no doubt to find some obscure place to hide for five minutes before he would get bored and find them again. Father and daughter watched his disappearing form in amusement before Ino spoke again as she slid off her sandals.

"You're back early tonight daddy, what's the occasion?"

Inoichi looked over, replying, "I've finally completed the transfer of responsibilities. From now on, you're looking at just a senior interrogator, and not the Head of T&I."

Ino beamed at her father. "That's great! You'll be back in time for dinner from now on?"

He smiled back. "That's right. Barring an emergency, I'll have shifts from seven to five with Sundays off."

The younger Yamanaka gave her father a huge hug. "We should celebrate! This Sunday, all of us should go for barbecue!"

Inoichi smiled knowingly. "Barbecue it is. Next time, when you want someone to get something for you, you have to make it seem like it was his or her idea. You should have left it at celebrate, and let me suggest the barbecue."

Ino hit herself on the forehead. "Darn, I knew that! Hisaki-baa-sama mentioned that the other day."

"How's your chakra?" He shifted topics.

"Not bad, I didn't use too much today."

Inoichi nodded. "Good. We have half an hour before dinner, let's see how your Mind-Body Switch is coming along, shall we?"

"Sure!" Ino trotted after her father happily.

~~~~~~~~N~~~~~~~

Ino stretched and yawned sleepily, her eyelids heavy. She had lost track of time the night before making explosive notes for Tenten's upcoming birthday, and as a result had fallen asleep in class that day. Ino was sure that Tenten would love her gift, she could only imagine the amount of damage that the weapon-loving girl could do with the one hundred tags Ino was drawing up.

Any store-bought seal was extremely expensive since they had to be written out by hand and written perfectly. So even though copying the notes out didn't require any skill beyond an eye for detail and good calligraphy, it was a tedious job, and as such not many wanted to spend their time doing such a mind-numbing task.

Each tag only took Ino a couple of minutes, but making a lot of them required time and patience. Tenten used a crazy amount of weaponry, and Ino knew to maximise her abilities, she would need a crazy amount of explosive notes. So Ino had sucked it up and knuckled down, resulting in her exhaustion today.

She was sitting with Sakura on a bench near the place where they'd first met, and Ino was a bit concerned because Sakura had been acting weirdly for a few days now.

"Hey…" Sakura said trailing off before she got any further.

"What? Why are you acting all serious?" Ino asked teasingly, trying to lighten the rather sombre mood Sakura was in.

"Ino-chan…"

Ino was really confused now. "What is it?"

"I heard you also like Sasuke-kun…"

Ino was startled. She hadn't told anyone that she had a small crush on him. She had said that he was pretty cute several times, but she said that about a lot of guys. She was sure she hadn't given out any hints, so how did Sakura know?

Sakura stood up, looking more decisive than Ino had ever seen.

"Then from now on… We're rivals." She announced.

Without further ado, Sakura left. Ino gaped at her retreating back, absolutely gobsmacked.

Had that just happened? Had Sakura just… ended their friendship? Over a boy?

Ino's first reaction after the initial shock was hurt. How could she just say she didn't want to be friends all of a sudden? Didn't Ino mean something to her? But Ino didn't want to be upset, so she channelled all her hurt into anger. She didn't need Sakura in the first place. If Sakura wanted to end their friendship than _she_ would be the one losing out. Good riddance to that traitor.

Ino picked herself up off the bench and headed to her clearing in the forest, stubbornly ignoring the traitorous tears that dripped down her cheeks.

~~~~~~~~~N~~~~~~~~

The compound was in an uproar when Ino arrived back after blowing off steam and unwillingly crying a bit more. It wasn't blatant to anyone who didn't know how the Yamanaka clan normally acted, but to Ino it was glaringly obvious that something big had happened. The clan members were passing rumours with fervour and those in higher positions were serious as they grouped together to discuss something. Ino intercepted the nearest clan member, a man with auburn hair, eager for a distraction.

"Santa-san? What's going on?" Ino asked.

Yamanaka Santa stopped his hurried strides, not about to turn away an opportunity to spread gossip.

"Oh, Ino-chan! You must not have heard yet, but one of the higher-ups just died."

"It wasn't the Hokage, was it?" Ino asked, panicked.

"No, of course not." He immediately denied. "There are tons of rumours flying around about what exactly happened, but one thing's certain; The Hokage's second-in-command, Shimura Danzo, is dead."

~~~~~~~~~N~~~~~~~~~

 **Things have been pretty busy lately, so updates might be erratic. Don't worry though, I will without a doubt be continuing this, so no fear there!**

 **So bigger changes are afoot, as you can see! Things are going to veer away from canon quite a bit, so no need to be worried about being bored with the same old storyline. Some things remain the same, others similar. We'll have to see how things turn out.**

 **As always, I appreciate your feedback, and thank you so much to my loyal reviewers!**

 **Blackbird0**


	11. Chapter 11

**I'm back! Exams are over, and I have more time, so thank you all for your patience! A bit info-heavy this chapter, and it's more of a necessary filler, but here it is.**

 **Chapter 11**

A small figure frantically sprinted down an alleyway, veering wildly to the side and grabbing a dingy pack that had been hidden behind a dumpster before running off again, all the while not pausing once. Glancing behind, the runaway compressed their chakra further even while knowing that if the hunter truly wanted to catch up, he could do so easily.

Darting through a park, the backpack was unceremoniously chucked onto the ground and it's contents dumped out. Small hands zipped up a dirty jacket and hair was roughly tied up and a black wig clipped over it. Coloured contacts were yanked out of their container and hastily - but delicately - put in, newly turned brown eyes blinking water out of them. Trousers were pulled on over a pair of shorts before the now empty backpack was shoved into a bush and the figure took off again.

Leaving the park in as much secrecy as could be mustered, the black-haired youth hurried to a busier area, and upon reaching the main street, dropped his pace to a casual walk. He drifted with the crowd, slipping in between the taller adults, making his way to the less reputable side of town. Entering a street full of casinos and brothels, the boy strolled into an establishment called The Golden Chalice, one of the more popular gambling houses in Konoha.

Blending in with the crowd as best he could, the boy found himself watching the roulette tables. Just as he was feeling more comfortable and relaxed, a hand grabbed his shoulder and he barely stopped himself from lashing out. Turning to his assailant, the street boy looked up to see a well-dressed man with abnormally shiny teeth looking down at him.

"You'll do." The man spoke dismissively with a cultured voice and the accent of a Fire country noble. "Boy, I need a servant for today. Do everything I tell you and I'll pay you handsomely."

The boy – now a servant for the day – nodded his head and gave a bow to the noble.

" O' course milord. Anythin' you need."

A few notes were put into his hands, and the nobleman nodded again. "Good. You'll get the rest afterwards. Now, go to my suite upstairs and get me my spare robe. Take anything and I'll have ninja hunt you down and make you regret it."

"Yes milord!" He took the offered key and dashed to find the snobbish man's robe.

Over the course of the next few hours working as a gopher-boy, the black-haired youth concluded that the man he was temporarily in the service of had snuck away from his regular retinue to indulge in his vice of gambling and chatting up pretty women; hence the need for a new servant. The man was terrible at cards for someone who was clearly a regular at this establishment, and the boy wondered if he would ever catch onto the sleight of hand one of his competitors was using.

Whenever he wasn't scurrying around for the demanding noble, brown eyes were taking in his surroundings with a keen gaze, observing all the happenings in the casino with curiosity. People watching was a hobby that the street boy would have happily indulged in all day, but he and the rest of the people in the casino were interrupted from their enjoyment by two police officers entering and making their way to his employer. No one else had noticed them, but the youth was rather familiar with the military police's insignia, and he stiffened slightly at the sight of them.

A few words were spoken to the nobleman, and when the man cast a disgusted and dismissive glance at him, he could feel his insides freeze. A nod was exchanged between civilian and ninja, and the two officers made their way towards the youth while the other man turned his attention back to the cards in his hands. But the boy was already gone, making his way through the crowd, desperate to throw off his tails.

He didn't get far before the two Uchiha officers appeared beside him in a swift but casual manoeuvre that had him placed directly between them. A hand came down on his shoulder as the officers firmly guided him down the street.

"What're you doin'?" The boy demanded fiercely. "I haven't done anythin' wrong!"

"Don't worry son, you aren't in trouble, someone just wants to speak to you."

"Then they can find me themselves! I'm not goin' to a station." The boy struggled futilely before giving it up as a bad job.

An elderly man with dark grey hair tied up in a high ponytail was waiting at the end of the street, standing regally and dressed in a yukata.

"Thank you Shinji-san." He spoke in a surprisingly smooth voice for a man of his age. The boy just struggled in the officer's grip even more.

"It's you again! Officers, this man's crazy; he keeps tryin' to talk to me even though I don't even know 'im!"

The elderly man wasn't perturbed by these accusations and just chuckled even as the younger policeman gave him a suspicious glance over.

"No use continuing, you've been apprehended. Additionally – " he reached forward and plucked the short black wig straight off of the head it covered, revealing blonde hair that tumbled down – "your wig is coming off."

Yamanaka Tadao turned to the senior police officer even as Ino pouted up at him and the other Uchiha started in surprise.

"How did she do?"

"A good attempt, her acting was very convincing as well as her appearance. She needs more practice at losing tails, and her accent was a little off, but overall it was well done."

"Wait, so it was just an exercise this whole time?" The young and clearly inexperienced officer interjected incredulously. His senior partner turned to him with an amused smirk, nodding.

"Yes, the Yamanaka and Uchiha have an agreement to test their children's infiltration skills as well as the newest officers' ability to spot them. While our primary goal is to keep the peace in the village, one of the Uchiha police's lesser known objectives is to flag people acting suspiciously and bring it to the attention of the counter-espionage unit, who are in charge of assessing them without arousing suspicion."

Ino took pity on the poor fellow, despite being pleased that she had fooled him. She suspected it was probably his first week on the job and he had already missed a potential infiltrator in front of his partner.

"Thank you for your assistance. The Yamanaka appreciate your cooperation." She bowed politely.

Tadao also gave a nod to the Uchiha before they left the two officers to the rest of their patrol. The walk back to the compound was in comfortable silence before he spoke:

"You're getting better, but you still need to work on keeping your chakra concealed to mimic a civilian's. If those officers had been sensors, they would have noticed your chakra fluctuations when you slipped up."

Ino pouted but nodded. "I know, I'll work on it. But did you have to tear my wig off?"

"You should have secured it better." Tadao said uncompromisingly.

Ino grumbled rudely under her breath about stuck-up old geezers, only stopping when she felt ominous chills start to run up her spine.

~~~~~~~~~~N~~~~~~~~~~

In the wake of Danzo's death, there were numerous meetings held, not only between the higher-ups and Clan Heads, but also within the Yamanaka compound between members. Ino spent her days trying – and failing – to spy on these meetings, attempting to glean some insight into what had the whole of Konoha's ninja population so shaken up.

She was extremely unsuccessful in this endeavour and had been told to leave the matter be, so she had reluctantly acquiesced. But while Ino wasn't privy to the meetings, she had noticed numerous changes occur; the start of the infiltration exercises between the Yamanaka and Uchiha, as well as the occasional involvement of the Nara clan in solving cases that had the police stumped.

Many of the Uchiha hadn't been happy with what was seen as a slight to their skills, but the Nara were generally laidback people and they found it much easier to avoid getting into fights. With the Nara's systematical way of thinking, the police were closing cases at a higher percentage than before, and now it wasn't uncommon to see an Uchiha member in the other clan compounds.

However the biggest change to Ino's life was one of her clansmen coming back to live with them. Ino had been introduced to Yamanaka Fuu almost a week after Shimura's death with only the brief and lacking explanation that he had been in specialised training for some time and was now back.

They had been introduced by Inoichi, who wanted Fuu to get to know his family better and had asked him to train with Ino from time to time. Ino had been keen to have a new training partner, but her excitement lasted only up until she met him in person. Fuu was very skilled with taijutsu as well as in the use of the tanto, and his trap making skills were second to none in his age group. He also didn't have any problems in making sure Ino knew that he was better than her.

Not only was he older, but he also had experience that Ino didn't have. She could see it in the way he moved and the way he fought that he had been out in the field. Every spar they had ended in victory for Fuu, which made Ino seethe with frustration; not because he won - that was only to be expected when taking into account the gap between their skills and experience - but because he never failed to smirk superiorly afterwards.

But while Fuu dominated the sparring ring, Ino was the one ahead in the clan arts.

Not only did she work hard at it, but Ino had also been born with incredible talent in the mind arts – so much so, that even at the age of eight she was considered to be a prodigy by her clan, someone born with the strongest Yamanaka abilities in centuries. It was simultaneously an honour and a burden.

So Fuu – who hadn't done clan training since leaving for his 'specialised training' – found himself finishing the exercises slower than a girl four years his junior. For someone who was used to being one of the most skilled amongst his peers, it was jarring to suddenly not be the best at everything. It didn't help that Ino, in retaliation for Fuu's arrogance, subtly rubbed it in.

Essentially, they got along as well as fire and dry wood - that is to say, destructively.

But explosive arguments with her cousin aside, life settled for Ino and the Village Hidden in the Leaves, with only the occasional training accident to disturb the peace.

That is, until Ino's best friend graduated from the academy. After that, well, life got a bit strange…

~~~~~~~~~~N~~~~~~~~~

"Congratulations Tenten! You made top kunoichi, that's fantastic!"

The blonde-haired girl smiled at her best friend as they sat in their usual meeting place not far from the academy.

"Thanks Ino! I would be ashamed if I hadn't, we both know that none of the other girls work as hard as we do."

"That's true, but still, you beat out all of the clan kids and you came second only to the Hyuuga."

Tenten grimaced at the mention, her nose scrunching up. "Urgh, that guy. He's always so condescending. I mean, he's fine to me, apparently I was 'fated to be a competent kunoichi' or some rubbish, but he's just an absolute prick."

Ino snorted. "Yeah, but you know, you'll probably be teamed up with him. They like to have balanced and effective teams, and since he's a short-range fighter and you're mid to long-range, your skills will mesh well."

"That's true." Tenten didn't seem happy, but she was somewhat resigned to it. "I'm so excited to meet my sensei, I really hope they'll be good."

Ino nodded in agreement. A person's sensei was arguably the biggest influence in shaping a ninja, and it wasn't wrong to say people's careers were decided by whom their sensei was.

"I'm sure they will be, you're one of the few in your year who will receive a jounin sensei, and all jounin are very competent. You'll have until you make chuunin to decide what division you want to join; it's so much better than being assigned to one right out of the academy. Plus, you know how hard it is to change divisions if you aren't from the top class."

"I know!" Tenten's head bobbed enthusiastically. "I'm so glad I worked for it, it would be horrible to be assigned to an administrative position for my whole life. Can you imagine?"

Both girls made grimaces of distaste before grinning at each other. Ino stood up and brushed off her skirt.

"Well, I have to go, leave a message with the guards for when you can meet up next, I want all the details!"

Ino rather regretted asking for _all_ the details later when an exasperated newly minted gennin ranted at her.

"My teammates are all crazy!" Was the first thing out of Tenten's mouth when Ino approached the training grounds. What followed was a long outburst involving youth, hard work, determination, taijutsu and fate. Ino was also pretty sure there was a mention of 'manly tears of joy', but she must have misheard.

"What am I going to do, this is not what I imagined my team would be like."

"Calm down." Ino said rolling her eyes. "And explain properly, I didn't get any of that. How about you start with their names?"

Tenten smiled sheepishly, but just as she opened her mouth they were interrupted by a loud shout.

"Yosh! Neji, Lee! We have found our fellow teammate. Greetings Tenten! You never showed up today for early morning laps and we were worried something had happened to our female member!"

Tenten buried her head in her hands.

"They're here." She wheezed out, before turning to face them. "Gai-sensei, I asked permission yesterday to be excused for the day to train with a friend."

"Ah!" The man – and wow look at that hair – hit his palm with his fist in an exaggerated gesture of remembrance. "That's right, your youth is in full bloom my student! Well, now that we're here, would you introduce us to your friend?" A beaming smile was sent Ino's way.

Ino took in the posture, the facial expressions, the sincere smile and joyous voice and was impressed. Horrified – but impressed. Everything about Tenten's sensei screamed honesty, and completely contradicted all the information she knew about Maito Gai. Dipping into a graceful bow, Ino straightened up and smiled, allowing her eyes to crinkle and adjusting her body language to something inviting and open.

"My name is Yamanaka Ino, it's an honour to meet you Gai-sensei." Her voice respectful the same way it was when dealing with her elders and superiors.

The Hyuuga tilted his head. "You are the Yamanaka heiress?"

Ino was somewhat taken aback but nodded. "That's right."

"I see. It is not surprising that you two are friends then."

"Oh?" Tenten interjected. "Why's that?"

"Ino-san is a prodigy, as is to be expected of the Yamanaka heiress. As fellow competent kunoichi, it was fate that you two became friends."

Ino and Tenten shot a glance at each other.

"Right." Tenten said shortly.

Ino didn't bother to argue. She had listened to Tenten complain about Hyuuga Neji's fate obsession for years, and knew it would take more than an argument to sway him.

"You are a prodigy too, Ino-san?" Tenten's other teammate spoke up then. "Yosh, I am Rock Lee, and I challenge you a fight!"

Ino blinked blankly. "Eh? Um, alright." She agreed, hoping that the crazy that Tenten claimed infected all her teammates wasn't contagious.

"HOW YOUTHFUL!"

She couldn't stop the jump she made when Gai's loud outburst interrupted them.

"Ino-san, your spirit is wonderful, as befitting of a flower in the springtime of youth."

"Thank you?" It came out more as a question, to her chagrin.

Gai shot her a thumbs-up. "You're welcome!"

Ino shook her head clear, before examining Lee up and down. Her fingers twitched in eagerness and she couldn't help the excitement. The opportunity to spar someone completely new who had no idea of her style was making her blood rush faster and she grinned.

"Rules?"

Rock Lee took up a stance across from her as the rest of his team backed off.

"Please hold nothing back Ino-san! I will defeat you when at full strength."

Ino's grin widened. "You're on!"

A green blur and suddenly Gai was next to the both of them.

"How wonderful!" And oh, there were the manly tears. "Yosh! When I say."

Ino took a stance herself and flipped her ponytail over her shoulder in a flash of gold.

"Begin!"

~~~~~~~~~N~~~~~~~~~

 **Just easing back into writing, and a short time-skip here. We're getting closer to graduation where the real drama will start, so if you're looking for action, there's only a couple more chapters to go.**

 **Thanks for reading and please review~**

 **Blackbird0**


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